


Anything But Easy

by SqueegeeBecksXo



Category: Gilmore Girls, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Josie - Freeform, Josie McCoy - Freeform, M/M, Slow Burn, clean smut, i don't have any other tags but that might change eventually, self-harm mention
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-03-24 05:17:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 45,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13804233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SqueegeeBecksXo/pseuds/SqueegeeBecksXo
Summary: Betty Cooper’s life for the last six years could be summed up in one small 5 letter word, easy. From friends to school and even summer jobs, life in the small town of Stars Hollow, where she moved after her mom and died in a tragic car accident when she was 12, had been easy. When Betty is faced with the impending transition into adult and all the decisions and changes that come a long with it, she’s finding that for the first time, something is actually difficult. The whole town is waiting for her to make a decision. Will it be college, adventure, or will it be on the back of the motorcycle of the new guy in town.Jughead Jones never wanted to be life his father, but sometimes life deals you a different deck. When his father is released from prison, now sober, he makes the decision to send Jughead away to life with his Uncle. Will Star’s Hollow be the escape Jughead needs to find his true path in life? Or will he find it in the ivy green eyes of the small town girl he can’t stop looking at.- or -She wants anything but easy, he wants anything but chaos, will they find the perfect mix in each other, or will this passionate love prove to burn to hot for the small town of Stars Hollow?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So if you've clicked on this pic and decide to give it a try I'm assuming you are either a. a fan of Gilmore Girls, b. a fan of riverdale, or maybe c. a fan of both, regardless, this pic is hopefully for you! 
> 
> I've tried to write this with the idea in mind that if you didn't happen to watch Gilmore Girls, you could still fully understand everything going on and the location and such, I hope that comes across. 
> 
> I've taken tons of canonical liberties here, both with the timeline and with some of what is canon in the final installment of Gilmore Girls, because, well, I had to. Some things just HAD to be changed in order to fit these two worlds together and have it makes sense. If you're a fan of GG, then you will certainly understand, if not, you're none the wiser. 
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this crack crossover. I'm a huge Gilmore Girls fan and over time Bughead had just started to remind me more and more of Rory and Jess (literati forever man), and I just HAD to take a crack at this. 
> 
> At this point I have about 4 chapter written, however unlike I usually do, I'm not going to publish them all at once. Slow and steady wins the race and I'm thinking maybe a chapter or two a week, so that I always have some spare. 
> 
> Again, I really hope you enjoy this fic. You can find me on Tumble are SerpentBettyJ0nes! Come follow and message me, I don't bite. 
> 
> Also, one last thing, yes the rating is mature because ultimately there will be some sex scenes annnddddd yea. I mean it's a slow burn for sure, but we will get there. Gotta make them falll in loooove first.

Summertime in Connecticut had always been what Betty would describe as easy, in every sense of the word. School would let out around mid-June making way for a warm, fun-filled summer of burgers, town festivals, and more hours then she could count spent on her front porch reading. Summer job’s in her small town of Stars Hollow were never too taxing and always felt more like time fillers then any real responsibility. Any money earned would be split between the glass Hello Kitty piggy bank she had been gifted for her 13th birthday the first year she lived here and buying books at the Black-White-Read bookstore. 

 

Yes, Betty could definitely say the living had been easy, that is until this summer. Now, she was 18 and suddenly there were expectations. College, careers, travel; all words she had heard a multitude of times from her well-meaning Aunt when she thought Betty wasn’t listening. For her part, her Aunt Lorelai had made it a point to not push her in any one direction. Something about mistakes and learning from her own past, a concept Betty never quite understood, kept her from ever towing over the line between parental figure and best friend. Betty was grateful for the most part, though there had been times she wished Lorelai would push her, she’d never openly admit it. 

 

These were the thoughts constantly interrupting Betty’s once carefree summers. They were the thoughts currently running on a loop in her mind as she sat on her big front porch attempting to read the same page of Sula for the fifth time in a row. The air was a bit thicker than usual for this time of year, it only being the last week of June, and she could feel the small beads of sweat beginning to take form on her forehead. Letting out a small sigh she decided to give up on reading for the time being. There’s always tomorrow she thought idly. 

 

As she stepped inside, the old floor creaking under her foot, she was filled with a sense of something she couldn’t quite name. For the last 6 years this house had been her home. She had played a part in filling it with memories and laughter and for some reason she couldn’t place her finger on, she felt as though it might all be starting to change, slowly slipping out from under her as if the house itself was crumbling. It had been a feeling that started the first day of her senior year when her Grandmother, though she’s not really her grandmother, had asked her what her plans were after graduation. Betty could feel the bile rise from her stomach and the slow burn of her fingernails on her palms for the first time as she struggled to form a coherent thought, let a lot answer the question. Thankfully she was pardoned from answering when her Aunt Lorelai stepped in and insisted it was too soon to start talking about the future. Again, Betty was grateful, but it had opened a doorway to a new facet of her anxiety and she had been struggling to close it ever since. 

 

It wasn’t as though she hadn’t thought about the future. It was as inevitable as it was daunting. At school teachers passed around pamphlet after pamphlet of colleges and technical school near and far. Her guidance counselor had called her in for a meeting to discuss her options, which thanks to her near perfect GPA, spotless attendance record, and plentiful extra curricular’s, she had many. She always knew the time would come when she would need to make a decision, she just hadn’t anticipated the decision being so difficult nor the amount of people that seemed to be so invested in whatever decision she made. Her Aunt and Uncle had tried their best to seem laid back and carefree, supporting whatever she chose, but she had her their anxious whispers and felt the tension in the air grow thick as graduation grew nearer. Now, two weeks after said graduation, it was still the same. 

 

Making her way towards her room, which was right off the kitchen, she could hear her Uncle Luke on the phone. It seemed to be a somewhat private call, so Betty hung back in the foyer, not meaning to pry but still being able to hear enough. 

 

“I don’t know what you expect from me FP, the kid is 18, he doesn’t need a parent anymore he needs a job.” Luke sounded disgruntled and she could almost hear taking his backwards baseball cap off and running his hands through his thinning grey hair. “Maybe you should have thought about all of that two years ago, before he got mixed up in all this mess.” 

 

Betty didn’t know much about her Uncle Luke in the way of family, just that he had a sister name Liz and a nephew, Jess, who came to town every once in a while, and stayed in the apartment above Luke’s diner. He was an author and enjoyed traveling, although he had told her once that Stars Hallow would always be his home. 

 

“Alright, alright he can come here but he’s not living with me. Lorelai wouldn’t have it and I have Betty to think about.” Her interest was officially peeked as she heard her name. “Yea, alright he can stay in the apartment. I have conditions though FP. He’s to stay out of trouble, and I mean it. One sign of it and he’s out. I’ve been looking for some extra help at the diner so that’ll be his job.” 

 

Betty attempted to move slightly closer to the kitchen doorway but stalled as the floor beneath her creaked loudly. Knowing her Uncle had for sure heard her and not wanting him to know she had been listening she decided to play dumb. “Luke you in here?” She called out in a sing-song voice. 

 

“Ah, hey Betty. Just, just give me a second will ya. I made some grilled cheese and the coffee in the pot is fresh.” Giving her a knowing look, he quickly exited out the back door that led to the back side of the porch. 

 

She stilled for a moment, hoping she’d still be able to hear him but knowing the walls are thin he must have walked off the porch for some privacy. Betty sighed, deciding whatever it was it sounded like she’d be finding out more sooner than later. 

Just as she was grabbing a mug for her coffee she heard the front door open and the ever-familiar voice of her Aunt fill the house. 

 

“Lucy I’m home!” Lorelai sang out as her heels clicked and clacked on the hardwood floor. Whatever anxiety Betty had been feeling earlier dissipated into thin air. Something about her Aunt’s presence was always so calming, even if she herself was not a calm person. 

 

Betty watched as her Aunt removed her heels and grabbed for the coffee pot at the same time. From the moment she arrived on Lorelai’s front porch Betty had been fascinated by her. Lorelai was a storm off black coffee, fast talking, and witty pop culture references. When she walked in a room her presence was felt, heard, and seen but not in a pretentious overbearing way. Lorelai just very simply was one of those people who commanded attention without ever trying and Betty loved it. 

 

“Okay so, the next time I get the idea in my head to completely redecorate all the rooms at the Inn, just take me outback and shoot me okay?” Lorelai ranted as she poured coffee in her mug and reached for the box of cookies on the counter. 

 

“Not going as well as you planned?” Betty leaned against the counter, her own cup of coffee in hand. She smiled to herself thinking about how normal and right this felt. Hanging out in her kitchen with her Aunt rattling off about something the ever-present smell of coffee hanging in the air. Why would she ever want to leave this? 

 

“The Inn looks like some kind of Hurricane came through only instead of a wreckage of broken buildings and trampoline’s that don’t belong there it’s pain swatches, and fabric patches, and mismatch furniture! Michele of course is loving every minute of it, but I just had to get out of there. I don’t know, maybe I’ll just let him take the reins on this one.” Her left hand was animating through the air holding the cookie she had just taken a bite of as her right hand somehow managed to hold on to her mug of coffee without spilling it. “Although then I may end up with themed rooms. I believe one of his ideas was a Through the Years theme.” Her tone airy with mock fear. 

 

“That sounds down right horrific.” Betty replied sarcastically. 

 

“Ha ha. Anyway.” Lorelai placed her coffee on the counter looking around. “Where’s Luke? He always in here I almost don’t recognize the room without him standing at the stove with a spatula in his hand.” 

 

Just then, as if on cue, Luke entered in through the same door he had left through moments earlier, no longer on the phone. “You should put that cookie down and eat an apple.” 

 

“When they somehow manage to genetically modify apples to taste like chocolate chip cookies I will happily.” Lorelai replied before placing the last bite into her mouth and grinning. 

 

Betty couldn’t help the smile that grew on her own face. Watching them bicker and tease each other lovingly was something she could do for the rest of her life and never grow bored. Her Aunt and Uncle, though they had only married a year before she came to live with them, had been together for much longer. She never could get a real answer whens he asked, something her Aunt once said about it seeming like her whole life and not wanting to taint it with number as her Uncle looked at her lovingly made Betty stop asking. All she knew was this was a love she could only dream of one day having, something you only read about or see from a distance and she considered herself the luckiest girl in the world to be able to stand in this small outdated kitchen and witness it up close and personal. 

 

“Alright. I’m gonna get changed. What do you say we go to Luke’s for lunch Betty?” Lorelai said as she took one last sip of her coffee. Luke sighed next to her. This was their long running joke. Luke’s Diner was the dinner owned and run by her Uncle Luke. Apparently, it had been his dad’s hardwood store and when he died, he turned it into a diner, one that though it was small, had not only the best burgers but the best coffee. Luke would always insist eating there was pointless since he was the Luke of Luke’s diner and would gladly cook anything on the menu for her, right here in their own home. Lorelai would insist it wasn’t the same and because he loved her, he would always let her win. 

 

“Sounds good to me.” Betty replied as she turned to rinse her mug off. “I’ll just wait for you on the porch.” 

 

“I guess I’ll just throw this out then.” Luke said flatly holding the plate with the grilled cheese he made for Betty up. 

 

Betty gave him an apologetic look and then plucked the sandwich from the plate taking a large bite. “I’ll just eat it while I wait.” 

 

Luke shook his head, laughing slightly. “Your last name may be Cooper but you’ve got the appetite of Gilmore, I’ll tell ya.” 

 

Betty warmed at the compliment as she made her way to the porch. 

 

A few moments later her Uncle came walking out the front door, keys in his hand. “You’re not gonna join us for lunch?” Betty questioned. 

 

She wasn’t sure but she thought she could almost see his face flush slightly as he readjusted his perpetually backwards baseball cap, his tell for being nervous. “Ah, I’ll meet you guys over there in a little. I’ve gotta run to the store for a couple things. Besides, Caesars cooking and I know you like his burger better.” 

 

“Uncle Luke, I would never say that that Caesars burgers are better!” She said in mock horror as Lorelai walked appeared from inside. 

 

“But she’s not going to disagree either.” Lorelai continued for Betty. 

 

“Yea yea. I’ll see you girls in a bit.” He said over his shoulder as he made his way to his truck. They watched for a moment as he climbed in, started it, and slowly backed out of the driveway. 

 

“What do ya say kid, it’s a nice day, should we just walk?” Lorelai asked, giving Betty a slight nudge with her elbow. 

 

“Well since it’s the only exercise we get, I’d say we better.” Betty replied smiling. 

 

. 

 

. 

 

. 

 

. 

 

The walk to Luke’s isn’t long at all. In fact, it probably would take more then 15 minutes to walk anyway in Stars Hallow. If you took up the phrase small town Betty is almost sure you’d find a picture of Stars Hallow. With a small population of roughly 9,000, it is indeed the very definition of small town. Home to only stop light, they don’t even have their own police force. Tourists who come and stay at her Aunt’s inn will often describe visiting the town feeling like stepping back in time. That’s what Betty likes most about it. She’s never once felt the need to flee from the confines of small town life, something she’s read about time and time again. 

 

While most of the stereotypes are true; knowing everyone means everyone knows your business, what they don’t tell you is that it also means everyone cares about you as well. When she came to live with Lorelai and Luke when she was 12, after her mom and dad died in a car accident she survived, she remembers how welcoming every single person in town was. She was worried the kids at school would be mean or think her an outcast, but it had been the exact opposite. She fit in almost immediately, as if this is where she was meant to be. If she felt any reservations about her life in this small town, it really had nothing to do with the town itself. More to do with the guilt she sometimes felt at how much she liked it. 

 

Losing her parents had been beyond difficult. For the first year she would wake in the middle of the night from nightmares of her mother screaming as the car spun and screeched against the black tar of the road. She would have vivid flashbacks of waiting for hours in the backseat of her parent's station wagon screaming for help, as her mother and father lay lifeless in the front seat. It had taken paramedics nearly three hours to arrive and those three hours haunted Betty well into early pre-teenhood. However, with the nightmares and flash backs aside, Betty enjoyed her new life almost right away. That first summer her Aunt Lorelai had taken time off from work and the two of them would spend every day together. They would visit Lorelai’s mom, who she called Grandma for lack of a better familial title (she was more like a second or third cousin, as was Lorelai, but Aunt and Grandma was just easier). They would drive down to New York and visit Lorelai’s daughter, Rory, who had just had a baby and was learning to balance work and motherhood in the same ways Lorelai struggled when she was younger. Betty loved listening to the stories Rory would tell her about her mother, and while it made her miss her own mom, she still counted her blessings that instead of foster care, Lorelai had demanded that she be the one to take Betty. 

 

Betty’s sister Polly, who was much older and away at college, had been given the first option but in a move that still causes the heat to rise in Betty today, had simply said she “didn’t have the time or patience to be a parent right now”. Betty knew that the truth was Polly and Betty hardly knew each other. To say Polly had a turbulent relationship with their parents would be putting it mildly. Polly left home at 16, when she got pregnant and didn’t like the parameters her parents were going to set on her life. Betty can remember being a little kid listening to her parents and Polly fighting, before Polly quickly left, slamming the door behind her. Betty’s mom Alice cried for weeks after and Betty had never been able to forgive Polly. So, while it hurt that Polly didn’t want anything do with her, and it hurt even more when she refused to come to the funeral, Betty could deal with that hurt because it meant that she got to Live with Lorelai and Luke, and if that wasn’t a silver lining, she didn’t know what was. 

 

They made their way into Luke’s as the familiar ding of the door opening chimed above. Though the town was small, this was the only diner and since everyone ate here, it got pretty busy. The lunch time rush was just dwindling down as Betty spotted a table by the window and lead her and her Aunt over to it. 

 

“I’m starving! Sookie has been on this ridiculous health food kick and while our guests seem to love it, if for one am not impressed.” Sookie was Lorealai’s best friend, chef, and half owner of the Dragonfly Inn. “I will absolutely never understand the obsession with avocado’s.” 

 

“You got me. I’ll take a greasy cheese burger and fries over a salad any day.” Betty quipped. 

 

“And that’s because you were raised right.” Lorelai replied as Kwan came to take their order. Kwan, who has a twin brother named Stevie, were Rory’s best friend Lane’s sons. They were both a half a year younger then Betty, though it didn’t count for much, and had been working at Luke’s since they were 16. 

 

“Hey Betty, hey Lorelai.” Kwan said to them both, though his eyes never left Betty. It was no secret, especially since you couldn’t keep a secret in this town, that Kwan had had a crush on Betty since the day she turned 15 and grew breasts, seemingly overnight. However, it was unrequited as Betty, try as she might, could never seem to muster the same feelings. Kwan and Stevie had been like brothers to her since she moved to Stars Hallow and no number of hormones or puberty would change that. “What can I get you guys?” 

 

“A greasy burger with fries please.” Betty replied, much to the delight of Lorelai. 

 

“I think I’ll take the same.” She smiled. “Oh, and coffee of course.” Always coffee. 

 

“I’ll have to charge extra for the grease.” Kwan teased. Betty and Lorelai laughed as he made his way to the kitchen to put in their orders. 

 

“That boy still has it bad for you kid.” 

 

Betty rolled her eyes. “Yea you’d think he’d be over it by now. Hopefully a few semesters away at the University of Miami will do the trick. You know what they say about those Miami girls.” 

 

“What do they say?” Lorelai puzzled. 

 

“I don’t know, I’ve never been to Miami.” Betty responded. 

 

Just then Kwan reappears with two large coffee cups and a steaming pot of coffee. It was no exaggeration to say that Luke’s endurably had the best coffee and Betty could nearly feel herself start to drool at the smell of it. 

 

“Speaking off…” Lorelai started hesitantly once they were alone again. Betty braced herself, unsure of where her Aunt was about to go with this. “Have you given any thought at all to what you’d like to do after summer is over?” She knew her Aunt was trying to be as nonchalant as she could, but Betty could still feel the underlying tension in the question. 

 

“Not really honestly.” Betty replied, though it wasn’t the whole truth. She had thought about, almost constantly, just not in the way her Aunt meant. 

 

“Well, I mean, if going away to college isn’t something you want, there’s always community college. I know you aren’t sure of what you want to study yet but…” Lorelai trailed off and Betty felt her mouth form a flat smile. This is always about as far as they got with this conversation but Betty knew the time had come for her Aunt to push a little further. “I’d just hate to see you waste your brain kid.” 

 

“I know. I’ll- I’ll figure it out.” Was all Betty could manage and thankfully Lorelai let the conversation drop as Kwan brought their food out. 

 

They ate in comfortable silence after that, making small talk here and there about the towns goings on, and Lorelai managed to go off on a tangent about redecorating the Inn again. 

 

Betty found her own thoughts traveling back to what her Aunt had said earlier about not wanting her to waste her brain. It was true, Betty was smart. School had always come easy to her, even before her parents died, however it was never something she thought was especially important. When it came time for high school her grandmother had tried to convince to attend Chilton, the same high school Rory went to, but she wasn’t interested. All her friends went to Stars Hallow High and she liked it there. 

 

The truth was, while Betty liked school, even enjoyed it, she never found herself particularly passionate about anything besides reading. Her first year living in Stars Hallow she had managed to read her way through all the books that filed her room, left behind by Rory. Not long after that she had started adding to the collection, so much so that Luke had to build her a book shelve, and then another one a year later. Reading was what she loved most. Losing herself in a story, leaning about the characters and what made them do the things they do. If she could somehow parlay that into a career she’d be golden. 

 

The sound of the bell chiming above, signaling someone coming or leaving the diner, followed by a crash of bags and boxes and the familiar muttering of curse words by her Uncle broke her from her reverie. 

 

“You okay their crash?” Lorelai teased as she got up to help Luke. “What is all this anyway? You planning on hibernating for the summer?” He had managed to spill to grocery bags full of different types of foods and snacks. 

 

“No.” Looks said in a grumble. As they stood, Lorelai holding a few of the bags so he now had a free hand to readjust his hat, again showing signs of nervousness. “Why don’t you two follow me upstairs so I can explain.” 

 

Betty and Lorelai exchanged confused looks with Lorelai, unsure of what to do, but ultimately following along upstairs to the small two-bedroom apartment. It had originally been his dad’s office, but when Luke turned the store into a diner, her turned the office into an apartment for himself. It was renovated once more when his nephew Jess came to live with him when he was 16 so they could each have their own space. 

 

Betty had been up here a few times. Whenever Jess came to town he stayed here and they would have pizza nights and talk about books and watch crappy movies. It was a completely open concept, aside form two closets and a bathroom, much like a studio apartment. The color scheme could only be described as brown but Betty kind of liked it. 

 

“Okay Luke what’s this about?” Lorelai asked placing the bags on the small circular table in the middle of the kitchen. 

 

Luke let out a long sigh, removing his hat and rubbing the top of his head. Betty leaned up again the small kitchen counter, unsure of what to do with herself as it felt like the air was growing thicker by the second. She watched as Lorelai stood with her hands lightly on her hips waiting for Luke to explain. 

 

“Okay you know my brother FP right?” He started. 

 

“You have a brother?” Betty asked quickly, without realizing she was talking about loud. 

 

Luke grunted. “Yes, a very distant brother. We have different mom’s and didn’t really grow up together. Not that it matters.” 

 

“I’ve never even met him.” Lorelai added. 

 

“You should be grateful.” Luke mumbled. “Anyway, he has son about Betty’s age. Apparently, he just barely graduated high school and he got himself mixed up in some bike gang and FP wants him out so he wants to send him here to Stars Hallow.” 

 

“Wait. The kid is in a biker gang and your brother wants to send him here. Why?” Lorelai questioned, not attempting to hide her distaste for the idea one bit. 

 

“Well, Jess is why.” Luke half explained. Betty wasn’t quite sure she understood but didn’t want to interrupt. “He knows that Jess came to live here when he was 16 and somehow got it in his head that I was responsible for how good he turned out.” 

 

“Well you are. Don’t see yourself short on that. But Jess, he always had the potential. He just needed the direction, and stability, which you offered. Plus, he was 16, not some 18-year-old gang banger.” Her Aunt replied with a huff. 

 

“According to FP his kid has the potential too but it’s the matter of location that seems to be the problem. Apparently the gang Jughead is mixed up in has been a problem in their town for a while and- “ 

 

“Hold on. Wait. His name is Jug-head?” She asked cutting Luke off. Again, she hadn’t even realized she was taking out loud. She felt her face flush as both Luke and Lorelai turned to look at her, clearly forgetting she was in the room. 

 

“It’s a nickname.” Luke responded flatly. 

 

“Okay ridiculous nicknames aside. Luke-" He Aunt started, but the stopped. She glanced down at the groceries she herself had placed on the table. Betty watched as a look of understanding came over her Aunts face. Lorelai clicked her tongue, switching her wait from one hip to the other. “You said yes already, huh.” 

 

“Well, sorta-“ Luke tried to explain but it was clear her Aunt wanted to hear nothing of it. Suddenly Betty felt very uncomfortable, like this was a conversation she probably shouldn’t be privy to. Without making to much of a scene, she politely excused herself, closing the door behind her. 

 

Just as the door clicked in to place, indicating it was fully closed, she heard the muffled sounds of raised voices coming from behind it. Betty sighed and made her way down the steps and out of the diner. Having lived with her Aunt and Uncle for the last 6 years of her life, she had heard her fair share of muffled arguments and sometimes they even escalated enough to be deemed actual fights. Most of the time though, they were over quickly and after some sulking on both their parts Luke would make Lorelai her favorite meal with a side of junk food and they’d somehow make up. 

 

As Betty stepped out into the warm sticky air of this average June day, something felt different. She looked around at the town she loved and learned to call home so quickly; children were playing by the gazebo across the street, the town troubadour was strumming his guitar and sing some song Betty didn’t recognize about life and love, and though everything seemed the same, something definitely still felt indistinguishably different.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter, and the one after it, are slightly shorter then the first, at 4,000 and just under 4,000 words. After that I'm pretty sure each will be well over. 
> 
> This chapter is still in Betty's POV, the next two will be in Jughea's, and then we will switch back and forth. 
> 
> Again thank you for all the comments and Kudos! It really does help keep me inspired! I'm going to be posting the next chapter, probably around the middle of next week. Waiting a whole week was killing me. haha 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it! Follow me on Tumble at serpentbettyj0nes!

Betty awoke the next morning to the sound of a lawnmower seemingly closer in proximity than one would expect. As she stretched and struggled to open her eyes, she was momentarily confused about where she was, until she caught a glimpse of her book on the coffee table and it all came back to her. 

After leaving the diner she had run home to change for her shift at Doose’s Market. It had gone like any other shift at one of the many jobs she had had over the summers, relatively easy, and when it was over, she stopped for some Chinese from Al’s Pancake World and arrived home to an empty house and no messages from either Luke or Lorelai. She must have fallen asleep on the couch reading, something that happened more often then she cared to admit, and neither her Aunt or Uncle bothered to wake her. Instead covered her up and placed her book on the coffee table. 

As Betty rose from the couch, she glanced out the front window to see her Uncle mowing the grass that had already been mowed the previous morning. This was a tell-tale sign that the argument she left them in the middle of yesterday afternoon had bubbled over into a full blow fight, still alive and well this early morning. It was never lost on her that Luke busying himself with meaningless tasks was his way of avoiding Lorelai and talking about whatever it was they were fighting about. Her Aunt, ever the most stubborn person she's ever known, was more of the cold shoulder type. She could be found in plain sight, not avoiding Luke, but also not exactly acknowledging his existence for the time being. 

Betty sighed as she made her way into the kitchen. Whatever this fight was really about, she hoped they got over it quickly. 

“Good morning.” Lorelai greeted her, not looking up from the magazine she was currently reading, as she took a bite of her pop tart. “Coffee’s fresh.” 

“Ah, sweet salvation.” Betty replied, pouring herself a cup and plopping a pop tart into the toaster. She stood against the counter for a moment, watching her Aunt, wanting desperately to ask about yesterday but not knowing if she should. She was biting her lip and lighting tapping the side of her cup when her Aunt looked up and spoke, causing her to jump a bit. 

“You okay?” Lorelai questioned. 

“Yea, I was just- I’m just not awake yet.” Betty mumbled. 

She grabbed her pop tart and was about to head into her room when her Aunt stopped her. 

“Wait. Before you go off and do whatever it is you do all day.” Betty tried not to flinch at the subtle insult, knowing the irritation in Lorelai’s voice most likely wasn't actually about her, more about whatever it is she was about to tell her. “It appears Luke’s nephew Jughandle or whatever his name is, will indeed be coming to Stars Hallow. He’s going to be staying in Luke’s old apartment and working at the diner.” 

“That’s… good, I guess.” Betty replied. To be honest, she didn’t really have an opinion on it. While it was clear her Aunt was not fond of it, Betty thought the idea of someone new to town might be interesting at the very least. Though the thought that this person was in some sort of gang gave her cause for hesitation, it’s not like he would be bringing said gang with him, so it wasn't something she was particularly worried about. 

“Good is one word that could be used describe the situation though not one I would choose." Her Aunt said, roughly flipping a page in her magazine. "Anyway, he’ll be getting here later today and we were thinking of having a big dinner to welcome him.” The annoyance behind the way her Aunt said welcome was almost so palpable Betty could reach up and pluck it from the air. 

“Well that at least sounds fun.” She was doing her best to sound as neutral as possible, in an effort to not take sides. 

“Sookie is going to cook and we invited Lane and Zack and obvious the twins” Lorelai looked up at the mention of the twins, clearly trying to gauge Betty’s reaction. 

Betty smiled through her teeth remembering the last time they had a big family style dinner like this, two weeks ago right after graduation. Kwan had chosen that moment to finally profess his love for Betty and it was awkward and uncomfortable and aside from serving them at Lukes’s yesterday, she hadn’t really seen much of him. 

“Don’t give me that look Betty." Lorelai said, the annoyance in her tone now shifting to something more like sympathy. "You saw Kwan yesterday and everything was fine right?” 

“Well yea, but even you saw the way he’s still looking at me.” She replied, moving to sit in front of her Aunt, dropping her head into her palm. “I just don’t understand. Kwan and Stevie have been like the brothers I never asked for, why did one of them have to go and get a crush on me?” 

“Well just count your blessings that Stevie pitches for the other team or else you probably would have had some double trouble on your hands." Lorelai teased. 

“Ha-ha.” Betty said taking a bite of her pop tart. “I guess it doesn’t sound too bad though. I love when we all get together like this so that will be fun. What time does Jughead get here?” 

Betty watched as the irritation from before quickly found its way back to the features on her Lorelai's face and she furrowed her brow. “He’s riding here on his motorcycle, so should be around like 4 if he doesn’t hit traffic.” She deadpanned as she again roughly flipped the page of her magazine. 

Betty glanced at the wall clock that read 7:46am. In roughly 8 hours they would have a brand-new person living in Stars Hallow, one who would be coming in on a motorcycle. She could almost hear the gossip already spreading around town if she listened close enough, like bee's buzzing about the hive, and she silently smiled to herself. “Well he’s certainly going to be the talk of the town.” She said finally, a hint of laughter in her voice. 

Her Aunt’s expression softened slightly but she said nothing, instead returning her focus to her magazine. Betty couldn’t understand fully why Lorelai was so against this. It’s not like he would be coming to stay with them, in the house. Besides, he’s 18, Luke wouldn’t really even be parenting him much, just giving him a job and a place to live. She had never known her Aunt to be the judgmental type but if Betty was being honest, this is oddly what it felt like, and she wasn’t sure she liked it. 

Finishing her pop tart and coffee, Betty made her way upstairs to shower and get ready for the day, making a mental to-do list as she did. It was a Sunday which meant she didn’t have work at any of the three places she was currently part-timing; Taylor's Olde Fashion Soda Shoppe, Doose’s Market, and the Black-White-Read bookstore, which doubled as a movie theater on Friday and Saturday nights. She did however plan to stop by Lane’s Music Store and check out the new shipment of records Lane had texted her about, but other than that and making sure her room was clean, the list was short. 

Betty dressed in a pair of dark blue denim cut offs and a plain white t-shirt, pulling her blonde hair back into a tight pony tail, like she always did. She put on a bit of mascara and blush, and after straightening up her room, headed out for the day. The walk into town was short, as it always was, but the cool air conditioning of Lane’s was still a welcome relief from the hot sun. 

“Betty!” Lane called out from behind the tall glass counter that housed many different collectible figurines of all the greatest rock stars, none of which were for sale, only for show. 

“Hey Lane!” Betty replied as she watched her move from behind the counter, her jet black straight hair flowing around her shoulders. Lane was Rory's best friend, and one of the coolest people she knew. She was in a band called Hep Alien with her husband Zack, the twin's father. When they weren't playing gig's all around upstate New York, Lane was busy running the music store. 

“So, you excited about dinner tonight and our new dinner guest?” Lane said as she rubbed her hands together in her best impression of an evil villain. Though Lane usually wasn’t one for gossip, this was probably the most exciting thing to happen in town since Betty herself had arrived, so she could almost understand the need to talk about it. 

“Yea it should be fun. So, did the new shipment of records come in today?” Betty asked, quickly changing the subject. 

“Oh shoot, shoot, shoot, that’s right. I totally forgot to text you but the truck apparently got a flat on some highway about 3 hours away so it looks like it'll gonna be delayed a couple days. I'm sorry Betty!"   
“It’s okay. Accidents happen.” Betty replied, trying to hide her disappointment. Truthfully, she was just hoping to find something new to add to her small collection. 

“Can I help you look for something else?” Lane asked, gesturing around the music store. 

“Nope. That’s okay. I think I’ll head home and see if they need any help around the house.” Betty knew they wouldn’t, that Sookie would be commandeering the kitchen all day and that Lorelai and Luke would be off doing whatever they could just to avoid each other. 

“Well okay. Remember you can always just come and hang out, maybe bang out some frustration on the drums if you'd like.” Lane offered, nudging Betty lightly with her elbow. 

"I know I know. Thanks anyway Lane." Betty smiled and turned toward the door. 

As she headed back out into the day, she checked her phone and saw that it was only 10am. Not wanting to go home but not having anywhere else to be she decided to shoot Stevie a text to see what he was up to and then meander around town aimlessly. While she loved the slow easy pace of small town life, she couldn’t deny that there was the fair share of days, like today, where it was almost too slow. 

As she walked along the quiet tree lined streets she couldn’t help but think, yet again, about the future. Unbeknownst to her Aunt or Uncle, Betty had actually applied to a few colleges, and been accepted to them all. She’d be lying if she said the acceptance letters didn’t feel good; they did, that wasn’t the issue. The issue was they didn’t excite her. Instead she seemed to feel even more dread and apprehension to the idea of the future. It all felt too easy. 

For a moment, she almost wished she wasn’t so smart and hadn’t done so well in school. If no one had expected anything more from her, perhaps she wouldn’t be feeling so much pressure to perform now. But instead, she felt like everyone was standing around, watching, waiting for her to make a move, a decision, or just to do anything. Even Taylor Doose had seemed confused when she had asked about her hours for the summer, stating he already filed the position but somehow making space of her anyway. Betty wondered why everyone else seemed so sure that she was supposed to be doing something more except her. 

Just then, pulling her from her thoughts, her pone buzzed with a text from Stevie. 

I'm headed to the lake! Come with... No Kwan. Promise. 

Betty felt a slight pang of guilt that Stevie felt he needed to mention Kwan not coming. She hated that this crush had seemed to ruin their friendship but wasn’t sure what to do about it. Sighing, she responded back. 

Awesome. I’ll meet you there soon. It would have been okay if Kwan was coming btw. 

Yea sure it would have. No worries. I get it. 

Betty huffed and put her phone in her back pocket, turning to head in the direction of the lake. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

Hollow Lake, which was more like a creek then a lake, was positioned on the boarder of Stars Hollow and Woodbridge. Over the years it had become a sort of hangout for the youth from both towns. A place where the seedier acts of small town life took place, like underage drinking, making out in cars or up against trees, and of course smoking pot. Betty herself, though she never minded having a drink or two at the parties, had only ever really tried pot once, and only made out with one boy at the actual lake. Still, it was one of her favorite places to be, where some of her best memories were stowed away. 

It didn’t take her long to get to the lake and Stevie was already there waiting, having driven his truck over. He was sitting on the bed of it, facing the water when she approached. 

“Okay I know it’s hot, but like, put a shirt on Fabio.” Betty teased. 

“I’m sorry, is all of this distracting?” He replied, gesturing to his chest and abs. She wouldn’t deny that Stevie, and Kwan for that matter, were indeed, good looking. Stevie had black hair that he kept short on the sides and long of the top and, since he was a football player, a more muscular build then his twin. Kwan was a drummer, like his mom, and kept his hair long, mostly pulled back in a pony tail. It was black as well, both unable to avoid the strong genes from their mother, who was Asian, only his was wavy and wild like his dad’s. 

“Completely.” Betty said in mock lust, fluttering her eyes lashes like butterfly wings. 

“You wish. I am the hot twin after all.” 

“And the gay one!” She replied. “And even if you weren’t, I’d still look at you and your bother as nothing more than my own brothers.” 

“Did I just get friend zoned without even trying?” Stevie asked, placing his hand over his chest in mock offense. 

“That's not a thing.” Betty responded with a roll of her eyes. Stevie lightly chuckled and smiled back. 

They fell into a quiet stillness as Betty rested her head on Stevie’s shoulder. She missed this. It had only been 2 weeks since graduation but they had all been busy with final’s and the boys busy with college prep stuff and she felt like it had been ages since she saw them. She thought back to all the summers they’d spent at this very lake, swimming, listening to music, and just being young. It was different now, with the future looming ahead. This could very well be the last summer they have together before both the boys go off to their perspective colleges and the thought made her heart hurt a little. 

“We should throw a party this weekend!” Betty said suddenly. “Well, next weekend since this weekend is over, but you know what I mean.” 

“Yea?” Stevie replied with a laugh. 

“Yea! I mean, this could possibly be our last summer together, and that includes Kwan by the way. I just don’t want it to fly by, all of us too busy with our own things, and miss this.” 

Stevie was looking at her with an expression she couldn’t read and then turned to face the water again, as if a little lost in thought. If Betty looked close enough, she could almost see the tell-tale sign of sadness beginning to form in the creases of Stevie's features. “Yea, I think that’s a good idea. Maybe we could even invite the new kid.” 

“The new kid?” Betty questioned, feeling as though maybe she had missed something. 

“Yea, Luke’s nephew. Jughole or-“ 

“Jughead.” Betty corrected, cutting him off. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea Stevie!” She smiled at him and he smiled back. 

They spent the rest of the morning into early afternoon just hanging out by the river, their feet hanging off the doc, listening to music. Stevie confessed he was nervous about college and meeting people, specifically about being gay and a football player and whether he would be accepted. Stars Hollow may be a small town but it was pretty progressive so when he came out in the 9th grade, it was really no big thing and honestly no one had really been surprised. They talked about Kwan and whether or not Stevie thought this crush would ever go away. He did and even told Betty he thought Kwan might be dating someone new already, to which she felt completely at ease about. 

As morning turned to early afternoon Betty found her stomach starting to protest at its emptiness as much as her body was protesting the heat. Betty noted that already it seemed like this summer was way hotter than last and Stevie agreed. They climbed in his truck and made their way to Luke’s. 

Luke’s may not have Wi-Fi but it did have air conditioning and both her and Stevie let out a sigh of relief as they entered. 

“Ah the prodigal twin has returned. Hard day’s work of nothing baby brother?” Kwan said, coming from behind the counter. He made it his life’s mission to remind Stevie that though they be twin’s, he was still born 5 minutes ahead of him, so he was indeed the oldest. 

“Just because I’m not slinging hot plates and flipping burger all day doesn’t mean I’m not working hard this summer Kwan.” Stevie replied with a hint of indignation in his tone. The truth was, Stevie was always a bit jealous of how easily music seemed to come for Kwan. He would spend his summer’s and after school training and working out and practicing all for football and Kwan seemed to just pick up the drum sticks one day and know how to drum. While Stevie was going be going to Florida State University on a scholarship for football, Kwan chose the University of Miami purely for its location. Betty secretly envied both boys for the fact they even made a decision in the first place. 

“Yea, yea. Working out, pumping iron, I get it. Sit anywhere guys.” Kwan responded rolling his eyes. 

They took a seat at a small green table and without prompting Kwan brought over a plate of cheese fries and sat down with them. Betty was instantly thankful as her stomach growled loudly once again. 

“So, Betty, what are your plans for the summer?” Kwan asked, taking Betty by surprise and causing her to momentarily choke on the cheese fry she had just bit into. 

“Leave her alone Kwan.” Stevie attempted to defend. 

“No, no it’s fine.” Betty explained, coughing. “Honestly, I don’t have any plans.” 

Kwan and Stevie stayed silent, giving Betty an odd look. They looked like they were about to say something when the moment was broken both by the sound of a distant loud engine and Luke bursting into the diner from the back room mumbling something under his breath and heading outside. 

“Well he’s in a chipper mood.” Kwan stated sarcastically. 

The sound of the engine drew closer and Betty quickly realized it was a motorcycle engine. Checking the time on her phone seeing that it was only 2:00 she concluded it was probably Luke’s nephew and he was clearly early. Betty, Kwan, and Stevie (and nearly everyone else in the diner) stared out the window as the motorcycle pulled up out front. Luke stood with his arms crossed, waiting for the driver to cut the engine. Betty watched as Luke and his nephew went back and forth, unable to hear any of it or get a good look at him. 

Just then Luke turned to reenter the diner, Jughead following behind carrying a large duffle bag, and everyone scrambled back to their seats. Betty picked up her coffee pretending to be taking a sip as the bell from the door chimed loudly as they entered. 

“Well, this is the diner.” Luke said, raising his arms and then dropping them to his sides with an audible slap. He looked around briefly before his eyes landed on Betty, not realizing that she was there this whole time. “Oh Betty. How long have you been here?” 

“Long enough to eat a plate of cheese fries.” She replied. 

“So not long.” Luke teased. “Well, Betty this is my nephew Jughead, Jughead this is my- well Lorelai's- well our niece for lack of a better word.” Luke stuttered as he explained. 

Betty looked up to find a pair of piercing icy blue eyes staring back at her. Jughead was tall, standing probably at about 6’ as he was definitely taller than Luke but not by a lot, with a lean build and broad shoulders. He was wearing dark black jeans with suspenders that seem to hang ironically from his hips instead of over his shoulders. He had a grey t-shirt with an S on it on and was holding a light jean jacket over his shoulder. His hair was jet black, curly, and wild as a bouncy curl fell in front of his eyes, topped with grey crown shaped knitted beanie that didn’t seem to do much to conceal his hair and was probably mostly a fashion choice Betty thought. In this town, he was sure to stand out like a sore thumb. 

“Uh, Hi.” Jughead said, extending is hand toward Betty. She quickly realized she had just been staring at him, not saying anything. 

Feeling her face start to flush she jumped up, attempting to shake his hand and instead knocked over her chair and bumped the table with her hip knocking over not only her coffee, but Kwan’s soda, spilling it onto his lap. 

“Jeeze Betty, what the hell.” Kwan said, jumping back to avoid the spillage. 

“Oh crap. I’m sorry Kwan.” She quickly apologized, now feeling like her cheeks were on fire. Beside her, she heard Jughead chuckle lightly as Luke went off in search of a rag. “Hi. I’m Betty. Obviously.” She finally managed to say, turning to Jughead and getting lost in those icy blue eyes yet again. 

“I’m Jughead. Obviously.” He grinned as he took her hand in his, shaking it. Betty felt a jolt of electricity shoot up from her hand and down to her stomach, as his skin touched hers and she almost yanked her hand away. 

Beside her, Stevie let out a fake cough, as if to remind her that he was still sitting there. When she turned to him he had what could only be described as a shit-eating grin and she idly thought it was out of place. “Oh this is Stevie and that’s Kwan. Their twins.” Betty explained, and then felt like an idiot because anyone with two eyes and half decent eye sight could tell they were twins. “Obviously.” She added a bit under her breath as she sat back down in what felt oddly like defeat. 

Luke returned throwing a rag in Kwan's direction. “Alright Jughead let me show to where you’ll be staying. You can get cleaned up before heading to my house for dinner.” Luke said placing a hand on Jughead’s shoulders. “That goes for you three as well. Dinner is at 5, be there by 4.” 

Betty watched as Luke and Jughead headed up the stairs to what would now be Jughead’s apartment. Trying to wrap her mind around the fact she probably just made a total fool of herself, she turned around slowly, her eyes meeting Stevie's after a moment. He still had that same grin on his face. 

“What?” She asked. 

Just then Kwan sighed heavily, almost huffing, and walked off in the direction of the kitchen. 

“This is going to be one interesting summer.” Stevie replied, laughing and shaking his head.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know I originally said I'd be posting once a week but I already have the next 2.5 chapter written and I just can't help myself. 
> 
> This chapter is from Jughead's POV and like the last two and the one after it, it's a little slow but it's introducing our characters and such so I hop you don't mind! This one is the shortest I've written so far, I promise the next few are longer! 
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this chapter! Leave me some comments telling me what you think and remember you can follow my on Tumble at serpentbettyj0nes!

Jughead stood in the small, but open, and very brown apartment that would now be his home. The ride to Stars Hollow, had been an unexpectedly easy one. So far from what he’d seen, Stars Hollow was nothing like Riverdale, his own small town. As he rode in from the highway, he was stuck by how quaint the town looked. Every street seemed to be lined with tree and decorated in some fashion that seemed straight out of an old-time movie. Until he reached Luke’s there had seemed to be no stop lights, or cross walks, or even a strong distinction between street and sidewalk as people just crossed and walked wherever. 

As his Uncle made his way around the apartment, showing him where things were, and what was what Jughead had to actively stifle an eye roll. This wasn’t his choice. He didn’t want be here, in this small town, living in this brown apartment, working for a man who he had never met and only heard of a handful of times. 

“Well I guess that’s everything. The town is small, so I doubt you’ll get lost, but just in case I put my address on the fridge. I guess you could just GPS it or whatever.” Luke explained as he fidgeted with the ratty looking backward baseball cap he wore. “Like I said downstairs, dinner is at 5 but Lorelai, my wife, would really like everyone to be there around 4." Luke paused for a moment. "I guess I’ll leave you to it then. We’ll talk about work and such tomorrow." 

“Alright.” Jughead responded not really having much else to say. 

Luke stood there for a moment, looking like he wanted to say something more. Jughead took this time to study him. Though the resemblance wasn’t prominent, them having different mothers at all, he could still see his father in him. Aside from the baseball cap, their style didn’t seem all that different; flannel shirt, jeans, boots, save for the leather Serpent jacket his father often wore. Luke was older, something that shone in the lines that creased his face and in the thin layer of grey that covered his head. Still, the resemblance was there. 

“Alright.” Luke said finally, making his way to the door, glancing back to Jughead one last time before leaving and closing it behind him. 

Walking over to the side of the apartment with biggest bed, closest to the bathroom, Jughead dropped his duffle in front of the dresser and then plopped down on the bed. How did I get here he thought, as he removed his beanie and ran his finger through his curly black hair? He thought back to a week ago and all the choices that had led him to where he was. 

For the last 2 years Jughead’s dad had been in prison for a trumped-up charge of obstructing justice. Having lost his mother when she decided to take his little sister Jellybean and take off, not even a whole year before his dad went to jail, he found himself alone and admittedly scared. So, when the Serpents came knocking, talking about honor and duty and offering him a job, how could he turn it down? While his dad sobered up in jail, he made a life and a family for himself in the Serpents. 

In the beginning, that's exactly what it was. A family, a community. But without the leadership of Jughead’s dad, the gang quickly turned to more criminal means of survival and when FP got out of jail 6 months ago and found out his own son had partaken in those criminal activities he lost it. He was sober now and had planned on taking Jughead and going and finding his mom and little sister, but Jughead’s involvement with the Serpents brought that whole plan to a halt. 

A week ago, everything seemed to come to a head. Jughead’s dad caught Jughead and another one of the younger Serpents delivering a crate full of drugs for Penny Peabody, the lawyer who helped negotiate his dad a shorter stay in prison, and a dirty Serpent who liked to take advantage of the younger, more vulnerable Serpents, holding her law degree over their heads. It was the deal he had made with her in exchange for helping his dad and he had resigned himself to the fact that this was now his life. FP however, wouldn’t have it. He made his own deal with Penny stating that he would be taking over from here and giving Jughead an ultimatum: go to college out of state or go live with your uncle in Stars Hollow, and if he didn't want either of those, he could simply just get out. However, if he chose the last, he wouldn't have the support of FP or the Serpents for that matter. 

Having just barely graduated high school, he knew that college wasn't even a viable option and he wasn't naive enough to believe that he could make it on his own completely. Jughead didn’t need or want Luke’s help, but the opportunity to get out of Riverdale and away from the Serpents was one he wasn’t going to pass up, even if he would never admit it out loud, to anyone. 

It was never the life that he wanted, but you play with the cards you are dealt, and so Jughead had been doing. Now it was like the deck changed hands and he had to switch up his playing strategy. 

Sighing, Jughead pulled his phone from his pocket to check the time. Realizing it was only about 2:30 he decided he’d better unpack a bit and shower and get ready for tonight. His mind quickly flashed green as he remembered the emerald green eyes of Betty, who he had met earlier. He had been taken by her beauty as soon as she looked up at him, and her clumsiness seemed almost too adorable for her to even be real. Luke had said she was his niece, but the way FP had explained it, she was Luke’s wife’s second cousin or something who had come to live with them a while back for some reason. He idly wondered, if like him, she came to live with Luke because of some youthful rebelliousness or trouble she had gotten herself into. Jughead shook the thought from his head remembering how perfectly all American she seemed. 

After unpacking all of his life’s belongings, that of which only filled half of the dresser, and showering, he made his way down the stairs into the diner. It was mostly empty, save for two customers and what appeared to be the cook. Oddly the diner reminded him of his own town diner, Pops. Though the decor was brighter and the style way more country, it still had the almost Cheers like feel, where everybody knows your name. He remembered his dad telling him about how Luke had turned their dad’s store into a diner, and if he looked closely, he could still remnants of said store. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

Stepping outside Jughead was immediately assaulted by the hot sticky air. Like in Riverdale, the summer here seemed to be hotter than most as well. He found his fingers reaching for his beanie as he contemplated removing it. Instead he simply adjusted and pulled out his phone to GPS the address to Luke’s house. According to the GPS, on foot he would make it in less than ten minutes and on his bike, it would take longer to put his helmet on and get it started, so he decided to walk. He looked at his bike for a moment, realizing he may not be riding it much in the near future and feeling a bit sad about that. 

As he walked the short way to his Uncle's house, he couldn’t help but notice how people seemed to stare. He was used to being glared at, especially in the Northside of Riverdale where Serpents and any other Southside trash simply weren’t welcome, but the people here didn’t seem to be glaring exactly, more like staring with curiosity, though he’s sure that would change soon enough. 

When he approached Luke’s, he paused for a moment to take it in. It was a large blue house, with what seemed to be a wraparound porch that was off on a street that didn’t actually even seem to have a street. Next to it, but not exactly close, was a red barn style house. The similarities to Riverdale had stopped at the diner. Made of mostly Suburban style houses that were close enough together that you could talk to your neighbor without raising your voice at all (and of course the small trailer park community he had grown up in), even the Northside was vastly different from this. He wondered for a moment what it would have been like growing up here. 

His thoughts quickly dissipated as Betty made her way out the front door and down the steps toward him. He watched as her golden blonde ponytail swung wildly behind her, and her legs, her long tan legs - Jughead shook his head to stop that thought in its tracks. He hadn't even been here a day and already his overactive imagination was getting the best of him. 

“Jughead! You made it! Was it hard to find?” She asked, a bit out of breath as she approached him. 

“Aside from this street not really being a street, no not at all.” He replied stuffing his hands in his pockets awkwardly. 

“Yea I guess if you don’t live here or know your way around here it would be sort of hard to find. The town is small and easy to navigate though, so you’ll know it like the back of your hand in no time. Now come on, everyone else is here.” Looping her arm through his she led him inside the big blue house. Whatever nerves or clumsiness she had exhibited earlier were now gone and replaced with a carefree airiness that made his head spin. 

“Lead the way.” He replied flatly. 

As he entered the house his nose and lungs were filled with the delicious smell of barbecue chicken and something else he couldn’t place, but that made his mouth water all the same. 

“So, this is the foyer, that’s the living room, the stairs lead up to Luke and Lorelai’s room and the bathroom.” Betty explained, as he followed with his eyes to where her finger pointed. The house was like nothing he had ever been in. While it was big, and clearly very nice, it was littered with tchotchkes and mismatched furniture. The overall dominating color was yellow, and it almost seem glow with a warm halo of light. It was an older home, not one you would find in Riverdale where everything was close together and built up. “Through here is the kitchen and my room. Everyone is in here and outback.” She led him through to the kitchen and it felt like he had been transported back in time. Both the refrigerator and the stove were straight out of the 1950’s and the table was probably just as old. The door to the room Betty had explained was hers was closed and he found himself wanting to know what it looked like more than anything. 

“Wow, this is retro.” He said, raising his eyebrows at the kitchen. 

“Yea, ya know, I hardly ever used this thing for anything other than warming my socks so I never thought to replace it.” A woman with dark brown hair, a shirt that said Heavy Metal Rules, and dark blue jeans on appeared in the door way that seemed to lead outback. “Hi, I’m Lorelai, Luke’s wife. You must be Jughead.” She said extending her hand. 

“Nice to meet you. Your house is, really nice.” He replied taking her hand. He may not be excited to be here but he wasn’t a tool and wasn’t going to be rude. 

“Yea we like it.” She replied, turning her attention to Betty as though she was about to say something, but then his Uncle came from the direction he and Betty had just come and her expression changed instantly. “I’ll see you guys outside.” 

Betty sighed and gave him an almost apologetic look as they both turned toward his Uncle. He was looking past them, to where Lorelai had just been, shaking his head. 

“I take it you two haven’t made up yet?” Betty asked Luke. 

He simply gave her a knowing look and sighed. “You two better make your way outside so he can meet the rest of the Modern Family.” He said as he gestured with his hands for them to move forward. 

“Yea let's get this over with.” Jughead found himself saying, sounding a bit more sardonic then he planned. 

Betty shot him a look and without thinking he gave her an apologetic shrug, to which she grinned widely. He could have sworn he felt his heart skip about ten beats as the sight her pouty lips turned up into a bright smile. Again, he shook his head slightly, quickly pushing that and any other thoughts about Betty out of his head. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll make this as painless as possible.” Betty said as she led him out the door. “Hey everyone, this is Jughead, Luke’s nephew. Jughead, this is everyone.” 

“Hey Jughead.” Everyone, which consisted of nearly ten people, replied back in unison. 

“Um hey.” Jughead replied awkwardly, waving a hand in the air quickly before stuffing it back into his pocket. Everyone seemed to quickly go back to whatever they were doing before he arrived, to which he was grateful. 

Betty laughed and pulled him by his arm again leading him away from the commotion over to where it looked like the twin she had introduced him to earlier were setting up a game of quoits. 

“Stevie, Kwan, you guys remember Luke’s nephew Jughead from, earlier right?” Betty asked as they approached the boys. 

“Yea of course. Hard to forget a new face in a town like this, especially one that rode in on a motorcycle. That’s sure to be the talk of the town for months to come.” The tall dark-haired boy said extending a hand toward Jughead. 

“Glad I could shake things up a bit for ya. It was Stevie, right?” Jughead replied taking his hand. 

“Yup and that’s my loser brother Kwan.” He gestured over his shoulder to his brother who was walking up to them. 

“Hey man.” Kwan said, shaking Jughead’s hand quickly before retreating back to where he was. “We playing or what?” 

“Don’t get your pony tail in a bunch, we’re playing we’re playing.” Stevie replied. 

“You wanna play?” Betty asked Jughead, tilting her head up so that the light caught her green eyes in such a way that made his stomach jump. He couldn’t say no if he wanted to. 

“Sure, but I have no idea how to play.” He laughed. 

“It’s easy. You can be on my team.” She laughed as she picked up two horse shoe shaped quoits. 

Betty proceeded to explain the rules and kind of walk him through the first round. It was an easy leisure game and once he got the hang of it, even kind of fun. They played for four or five rounds, ultimately losing to the twins, before Luke yelled out that the food was done and to come get it before it got cold. Jughead never had to be told twice it was time to eat. 

They all got their food and found their seats around the rather large table that had been set up. Betty had saved him a seat between her and Luke, across from the twins. Kwan had seemed to be giving him dirty looks the whole night and when Betty smiled as Jughead sat down, Kwan rolled his eyes so much he was sure they would get stuck in the back of his head. He idly wondered if perhaps Kwan and Betty were a thing. 

“Okay, okay. Now that I have your attention…” Lorelai said standing up from her chair. “Two priests and a rabbi walk into a bar-“ She started but was quickly cut off by a round of nooo’s and come on’s from everybody’s. Jughead couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright no really. I’m very happy that we could all get together tonight, something I don’t think we do often enough. Soon the twins will be going off to college and…” She paused, quickly glancing at Betty before continuing. Jughead couldn’t help but notice the way Betty seemed to stiffen, her hands bawling up into tiny fists. “Well, it’s just nice to do to welcome Luke's nephew Sookie of course made enough food to feed a small country so eat up!” She finished before sitting back down. 

While Jughead ate, he took in the conversations around him, learning a little bit about each person while he did. Everyone here seemed so wholesomely good it almost made his stomach hurt. He didn’t know a place like Starts Hollow could even exists. Riverdale seemed like a whole different universe, with its corruption and gang violence. He’d almost bet the crime rate here was damn near nonexistent. 

After finishing his plate, and going back for seconds and thirds, he sat there utterly full and sated. For a moment he wondered if he should help clean up, but the woman Lorelai had called Sookie seemed to have everything under control, including clean up. 

“Cake?” Betty asked as she sat down next to him and extended a piece of chocolate cake in his direction. 

"Sure.” He replied, suddenly feeling a little less full. 

“So, the twins and I are gonna go down to the Lake after everyone is done eating and such. You should come with.” She said, turning towards him and taking a bite of the chocolate cake on her plate and licking the frosting off the fork. Jughead was so distracted by the action he almost forgot to respond. 

“Um, yea sure. Is that what you guys do for fun around here, hang by the lake?” He asked, as he took a bite of the cake, thinking about his own summers spent at Sweetwater River and the types of parties he was almost sure they didn’t have here. 

“Pretty much. This weekend we’re throwing a party there, but tonight is just a small hangout.” She took another small bite of her cake, and Jughead watched as a bit of frosting fell to her chin. Without thinking, he reached out and wiped it away. Betty's eyes were wide but soft and when she thanked him, he could see the soft pink forming on her cheeks as she looked up at him. 

“So, a party?” He questioned, breaking the moment. If he let himself, he could get lost in her emerald eyes. 

“Yea, you know, music, beer, people our age socializing. All in the name of teenage rebellion.” She explained. He couldn’t help but smile at the almost devilish look in her eyes. Maybe there was more to this town then he thought. 

“Ah so I am still on planet earth.” He replied sarcastically. 

“What's that supposed to mean?” Now done with her cake, she deposited it on the table with her fork before turning back to him, waiting for his answer. 

“Nothing, it’s just, this place is nothing like where I come from.” He wasn’t sure how to phrase it as though not to offend her. It wasn’t that he didn’t like it here, in fact he had had a decently good first day so far and the more he sat talking with Betty the better it got. 

“A little too Norman Rockwell for you?” She questioned, tilting her head and smiling at him. For the one hundredth time tonight, he felt his heart skip a few beats, something that couldn't be good for his health. 

“Yea, exactly.” He said with a laugh. 

“I get it. It felt that way when I first moved here too.” Her gaze was fixed downward and she was playing with a loose string on her cut off’s. Jughead had to concentrate hard on prying his eyes away from her legs and focusing on something on the table. 

“When was that?” Betty gave him a puzzled look and he explained. “I meant when did you move here?” 

“Oh. Um, I came to live with Luke and Lorelai when I was 12, after my mom and dad died.” The statement came out almost robotic, as if she had said it a thousand times before, and based off the look on her face, Jughead figured she had. He felt a deep sadness for her loss, so much so he wanted to reach out and place a hand on her knee. Instead he concentrated on his cake. 

“Shit. That sucks. I’m sorry.” Was all he could manage to say. 

“It’s all good.” She replied, standing up quickly. “I’m gonna go wash my face and then gather up the twins and we can head over to the lake.” 

“Alright. I’ll wait for you out front.” Jughead responded, taking the last bite of his cake. 

As Jughead walked around to the front of the house, he took out his phone deciding to check for any messages from his dad or anyone else. Of course, there were none. He doesn't know why he was surprised his dad hadn't called or text to make sure he made it there okay, or why it bothered him so much, but it did. Feeling a bit dejected, he stuffed his phone back into his pocket and sat down on the porch. 

"Everything okay?" He turned around to see Lorelai coming to sit down next to. 

"What? Oh, yea I'm good. Extremely full. The food was amazing." He wasn't lying, aside from Pop's burgers and shakes, this had been the best the best meal he had had in weeks. 

"Don't thank me. Sookie did all the cooking. She's the chef at the inn I run. The Dragonfly Inn." She explained. 

"Well she's amazing." 

There was a brief moment of awkward silence before Lorelai spoke again. "So, you all settled in over at Luke's old apartment?" 

"Yea I am. I didn’t really bring a lot or have a lot that is. Just what I could fit on the back of my bike." He thinks back to the night before, when he had packed nearly everything he owned into his small duffel bag. He hadn't really surprised him that it all fit, what did surprise him was how empty his small room in his dad's trailer suddenly felt. 

"Well if you need anything just let us know." Lorelai's voice interrupted his thoughts followed by Betty bouncing out of the front door. 

"You ready Jughead?" She asked, coming down the steps as he stood up. 

"Where you guys going?" Lorelai's tone was laced with a concern that didn't match the smile on her face. 

"We're just going to head over to the lake. The twins are coming to. Figured we'd show Jughead where all the debauchery goes down." Betty teased. 

"Well, okay. Just don't be out to late and, don't do anything I wouldn't do." Lorelai said in what seemed like a mock authoritative tone as she wagged her finger in Betty's direction. 

"Yea yea. Come on Jughead." Betty grabbed his hand and led him toward what appeared to be Stevies truck. He couldn't help smile as he looked down at where they hands were clasped together. 

Before climbing into the truck Jughead stopped to look up at the sky. Breathing in deep he felt something shift. Like the weight he had been carrying on his shoulders for as long as he could remember was suddenly different, maybe lighter. 

He was sure of it when he turned and his eyes locked with Betty's as she smiled and patted the seat next to her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited about this chapter and the next! They really do start to move the story along and I'm just having so much fun with it! 
> 
> I hope to have chapter 5 out within the next few days. My goal is to always have at least a chapter and half written before I post a new one because it makes me feel less rushed. If that makes sense! 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Please leave some comments and feedback and of course you can follow me on tumble at serpentbettyj0nes!

It was a little after 8pm by the time Jughead, Betty, and the twins, Stevie and Kwan, had made it to the lake. They had all piled into Stevie’s truck, Betty and Jughead in the small backseat, and stopped at Doose’s market for some snacks before heading over. On the short drive Betty pointed out different spots in town that she and her friends liked to hang out, showed him where the book store was, the best places to get pizza or Chinese and was telling him about the three different places she was working this summer when they pulled up to the lake. Jughead found it hard to concentrate on anything she was saying though, as her leg seemed to continuously bump against his own, causing a surge of electricity to run through his whole system. 

“Yea this town is so boring Betty has to have three jobs just to keep from going crazy.” Stevie said as they all exited the truck. 

“That’s not true. I like working. Plus, at the book store I just basically get to sit and read and get paid for it.” She defended. 

“You’d be reading even if you weren’t getting paid for it.” Stevie responded giving Betty a light nudge. Her face flushed with a soft pink, the tell-tale signs of embarrassment, though Jughead’s not sure why she would find that embarrassing. 

“You like to read a lot?” He asked casually. Truthfully, he was dying to know more about her; her favorite book, favorite song, was she more a morning person or a night person. Try as he might to keep his imagination from running away from him, the need to know more seemed almost out of his control. 

“That’s the understatement of the year dude. Betty has probably read more books then anyone I, or you, or anyone knows.” Stevie said as they all padded down close to the lake. 

“Alright enough about Betty’s unhealthy reading habits. Let's grab some wood to get a fire going Stevie.” Kwan said shooting Jughead yet another glare. It was becoming clearer Kwan was not fond of him, thought Jughead wasn’t sure why, he could only guess it had something to do with Betty. 

Jughead followed Betty as she walked out to the middle of the small wooden foot bridge that seemed to connect the Stars Hollow side of the lake with what a distant sign read was the Woodbridge side. She made quick work of removing her shoes before sitting down and letting her feet hang over the edge and dip into the water slightly. After a beat Jughead followed suit, removing his converse and socks and sitting down beside her. 

For a while they sat in silence, the only sound being the twins bickering over what wood to grab and if either of them even had a lighter or matches. 

“So, Kwan hates me, doesn’t he?” Jughead asked, deciding he might as well break the silence. 

“What, no. He doesn’t…” Betty trailed off clearly unable to lie. “Okay I wouldn’t say that he hates you. He’s just -“ She paused, as if unsure of what she wanted to say. “Things with Kwan have been... I guess you could say they’ve been strained.” 

“Is he your boyfriend?” It didn’t seem like a far stretch and since she seemed to be having so much trouble explaining, he figured he'd just come right out and ask, preparing himself for her answer to be yes. 

“Oh god no! That’s half the problem I guess. I’ve known Kwan and Stevie since I was 12. They were the first kids my age that I met and we just hit it off right away. They are both like my brothers. Of course, once puberty hit and we all became teenagers, Kwan developed a crush on me. One that has been unrequited since the beginning might I add.” Kicking his feet back and forth in the water, Jughead watched as the small splashes made circling waves on the otherwise still water, as he tried to reign in the joy he felt about what Betty was saying. “Two weeks ago, right after the huge graduation diner we had my house, he decided to tell me he loved me and that he thought we should be together. It was so awkward but I had to tell him the truth, that I’d always love him and Stevie like a brother, but it couldn't ever be anything more. Obviously, he didn’t like that and ever since our friendship has just been- “ 

“Strained.” Jughead finished for her. She nodded slightly. “Well, he’s a jerk.” He continued. 

“No, he’s not. It’s hard when you like someone and they don’t like you back.” Betty defended. 

“Sure. Of course, it is. But that doesn’t mean you treat people like shit. You guys clearly had a great friendship before his sudden profession of love. If he truly cared about you, maintaining the friendship, despite your lack of romantic feelings toward him, should be important. Clearly it’s not.” 

For a moment Jughead was worried he had crossed a line or offended Betty in some way because she didn’t say anything. Instead she stared at him, almost into him. Her emerald green eyes, seemed impossibly bright under nothing but the light of the moon and for a moment he wanted to get lost in them. Her expression was unreadable are her eyes flitted back and forth between his own, as if trying to read something she couldn’t understand herself. 

“That's... yes.” She said finally. “You’re absolutely right.” 

Jughead felt his entire body warm and the small hairs on the back of his neck stand on end at the smile he was rewarded with from Betty. It was an odd but overwhelmingly good feeling. As fast as it came it left when the bubble they had seemed to be happily sitting in was popped by a voice calling them from the lake’s edge. 

“Betty, Jughead, we got the fire going.” Stevie called out as if they couldn’t see it from where they were sitting. 

As they got up and put their shoes back on a thought came to Jughead’s mind. 

“How did you manage to win the affection of one twin but not the other?” He questioned. 

“I’m not his type.” Betty said, a knowing smile playing on her lips. Jughead, unsure of what she meant, responded with a puzzled look. “He’s gay Jughead.” 

“Oh! Well that makes sense.” He mumbled, feeling his face flush a bit. 

They made their way back over to the boys just as the fire was really getting started. Betty dug through a few of the bags, pulling out everything necessary to make smores, and placed it out neatly on the nearby picnic table. Soon they were all sitting by the fire roasting marshmallows, comfortably quiet as they all filled their mouths with the sticky chewy goodness of smores. 

“So, Jughead. What's with the name?” Stevie abruptly asked. 

“Ya know, that’s actually the longest it’s taken anyone to ask me that question. I’m impressed.” Jughead replied. “It’s one of those weird family nicknames and trust me it’s better than the real thing.” 

“I get that. Wish I had a nickname.” Stevie mused, placing another marshmallow on his stick before dangling it over the fire. 

“Why? Stevie is a perfectly fine name.” Betty defended as she got up to grab another Hershey bar for her smores. 

“No. It’s corny and it’s like a child’s name. In three weeks I’ll be 18. What kind of 18-year-old man do you know with a name like Stevie. See, Jughead, that’s like a rugged kind of manly nickname. I dig it.” Stevie said as he lowered his voice and octave or two, puffing out his chest. 

Kwan let out a snort which was met with a glare from both Stevie and Betty. Jughead couldn’t help himself. 

“So, what about you Kwan. Do you like your name?” He asked, trying to sound as casual as possible. 

“It’s definitely better then Jug-head.” Kwan replied, not attempting to mask his contempt for Jughead at all. 

“Touché, touché.” Jughead replied in a sing song voice before plopping a marshmallow in his mouth and turning his attention to Betty. “What about you Betty? You like the name Jug-head?” He asked in the flirtiest tone he could muster. 

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Kwan stiffen and Stevie eyebrows shoot to the sky as a small grin played on his face. Betty also seemed to be aware of what he was trying to do as she turned to him slowly, taking a small bite of her Hershey bar before answering. 

“I don’t know, I think it’s kind of…” She paused, licking the melted chocolate off her fingers. Jughead felt his pulse quicken and didn’t know how long he’s be able to maintain his unamused facial expression. “Dorky.” She finished before throwing a marshmallow at him, which hit him right between his eyes. 

Jughead threw his head back in laughter, as did Betty and Stevie. “Okay this is boring. I’m going home.” Kwan announced standing up and sulking away. 

“Come on big bro, don’t be such a stick in the mud.” Stevie called out, but it was too late. Kwan disappeared beyond the truck. 

“Big bro? Thought you guys were twins.” Jughead questioned, laughter still bubbling in his gut. 

“We are, but he was born five minutes before me.” 

Again, Jughead threw his head back and laughed a good hardy belly laugh. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed this much in one night or had this good of a time doing basically nothing. 

For the next two hours the three of them just talked, listened to music, and ate nearly all the snacks they had brought. He learned a lot about Stevie, who seemed to like talking about himself as much as he liked country music, which was a lot. He often found himself distracted by the way the light from the fire would land on Betty’s face, making it seem as though she was glowing from within. His eyes would trace the line of her lips, down to her jaw, down the curve of her neck, over her collar bones and it was about there he would catch himself and shake his head, feeling like a perv for even getting that close. 

“Alright kids. Stevie’s tired so Stevie’s gonna head out.” Stevie announced, referring to himself in the third person. “You two want a ride?” 

“I’m just gonna walk, it’s a nice night.” Betty replied. 

“My Uncle Luke wanted me to check back in with him before I headed to the apartment, so I’ll walk with you.” Jughead lied. He was 18 and essentially living on his own, why would he need to check in with his Uncle? 

“Alright. Stay out of trouble. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do and watch out for the scary things that go bump in the night.” 

“There’s no trouble to get into, that leaves literally nothing, and the only things that go bump in the night are the feral cat’s Babbet insists on feeding.” Betty replied, as she grabbed a bucket to fill with water to douse the fire. 

"Precisely.” Stevie laughed and then made his way to his truck. 

Jughead gathered up the garbage from the smores and waited while Betty made sure the fire was completely out. By the time she was done Stevie had already started pulling away. 

“Shall we?” Betty asked as they started toward the road. 

For a while they walked in comfortable silence. Jughead marveled out how alive yet asleep the town seemed this close to midnight. Street lights were still on, the flickering twinkle lights that seemed to frame every store front window and liter all throughout the town were also still on, yet there wasn’t really a soul in sight. If this were Riverdale, at least half the town would still be awake. He knows for sure the White Whyrm would definitely still be buzzing about. He flinches slightly at the memory of what was once a place that felt so much like home. 

Walking along these unfamiliar streets with a girl he’d only known for a day felt so oddly out of place in his life’s story, yet he himself felt so comfortable and at ease. In fact, easy was a word he would dare to use to describe this whole day, or at least from the time he rolled into Stars Hollow. 

“So where is it that you're from again?” Betty asked suddenly, her voice cutting through the tangled thoughts in his head. 

“Riverdale. It’s a small suburban town in in Upstate New York. Though, after seeing the world's actual smallest town that is Stars Hollow, I don’t know if I would call it that anymore.” Jughead replied thoughtfully. 

“Yea Stars Hollow is pretty small.” Betty replied staring downward as they walked. 

“It’s kind of okay though. So far at least.” 

“I don’t want to pry, but…” She paused, seeming unsure of how to continue. Jughead braced himself for what he was sure would be the inevitable question of why he was here, though he honestly didn’t know how much his Uncle had told Betty. “Luke mentioned you were mixed up with a gang? Is that why you’re here? To get away from it?” 

Jughead sighed. Figures in this world that seemed so perfect they wouldn’t have secrets. He almost wonders if his Uncle mentioned it as a warning for Betty. “Yea kind of. The Southside Serpents are what we’re called. Though I guess they would be the correct pronoun to use now.” He half explained. Betty stayed quiet, as if waiting of him to continue. “There's a long back story there about the actual gang and its roots in the town but my dad was kind of the leader up until a little over 2 year ago, when he went to prison. The Serpents were really there for me when he went away and were kind of the only family I knew. My dad had tried to keep me relatively sheltered from that life, but ultimately it ended up backfiring. I joined, willingly so, though it wasn't long before I started to realize they weren't exactly the family I had hoped.” He wasn’t sure why he was telling her all of this. In fact, the only thing he was sure of was that it would probably make her never want to be alone with him again, let alone walking along the empty streets at midnight with him. 

“What about your mom?” Betty inquired, stopping to look at him with those captivating green eyes of hers. 

This wasn’t a question Jughead had been prepared for. It was never a question he was prepared for. “Um, well, she took off with my baby sister when I was 14 and I haven’t seen her since.” 

“She just took off? What- why?” They were still standing there in the middle of the street just staring at each other. 

“She couldn’t take any more of my dad’s drinking or his involvement with the Serpents.” Jughead answered flatly. He felt the bile in his stomach start to rise, a feeling he was all too familiar with when talking about his dad’s alcoholism or his mom abandoning him. 

The look on Betty’s faced changed slightly and she turned to continue walking. The silence hung between them like a thick cloud of dust and for a moment Jughead was afraid he’d choke on it, but then Betty spoke and once against the dust flitted away. 

“My dad drank too.” She stated in a matter of fact tone. She was staring straight ahead as they walked and for a brief moment Jughead was distracted by how absolutely perfect her profile was. “I’ve actually never said this out loud to anyone, but I’ve always wondered if that’s what happened.” 

“What do you mean?” Jughead asked gingerly, unsure if he should push her or just let the conversation go. 

“My parents died in a car accident.” She replied, turning to look at him and instantly he knew what she meant before. She wondered if her dad had been drunk when they got into a car accident and if that had killed them. 

Jughead had never been an overly affectionate person. He'd never be the first to reach out a hand and pat someone on the back for comfort and he never really found himself needing it either. However, in this moment, he wanted nothing more than to swoop Betty up in his arms and hold her until the painful look in her impossibly green eyes melted away. 

Instead he stuffed his hands into his pockets as they continued to walk. 

“That’s heavy Betts.” The nickname slipped off his tongue as if he had been using his whole life. She smiled at him, clearly not minding it, so he smiled back. 

They walked in a comfortable silence for the rest of the way, both knowing that ultimately a lot had been said and some nerves were probably pretty raw. When they reached Betty’s front porch he was again struck with the urge to reach out and touch her. 

“Thanks for walking me home Jughead.” She said, the look on her face indicating that she knew he didn’t actually need to check in with Luke. 

“No problem Betty. I’ll see you around.” He replied as he walked backward back toward the road. Once Betty was inside and he heard the door click he turned around and began his short walk back to his new home. As far as first day’s go, this one certainly wasn’t the worst. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

Monday morning Jughead awoke to an annoyingly loud buzzing sound. It took him a moment before he realized it was his phone and it was ringing. 

“Hello?” He answered without looking at the caller ID with a groggy morning voice. 

“Jones, where the hell, are you? FP said you moved out but that doesn’t sound like you, so, what's going on?” Toni Topaz had been Jughead's best friend since he was 10 years old. They had been through a lot together and when he left the day before, he hadn't gotten a chance to say goodbye or even explain what was happening. 

“Hey Toni. Yea, it’s kind of a long story but I -“ Jughead was cut off by the sound of loud knocking at his door. He got up and headed toward the door while he finished explaining everything to Toni. “I moved out of state to my Uncles.” 

“Out of state? What the fuck Jughead? You couldn't even be bothered with saying goodbye?” It was clear by her tone that Toni was not happy with this news. 

Jughead opened the door to find his Uncle standing there holding up an apron and a notepad, clearly indicating this would be his first day of work. 

“Toni I gotta go. I call you back later I promise.” Jughead didn't wait for her response before hanging up. 

Luke walked into the apartment, pushing past Jughead. “Come on in Uncle Luke.” Jughead muttered after the fact. 

“Alright kid today is your first day of work. I want you dressed and down there in 15 minutes. No weird band t-shirts, no flannel, and no beanie.” He listed off as he handed Jughead the apron and notepad. 

“You’re wearing flannel.” Jughead mused, pointing to Luke’s shirt. 

“I’m the boss, I can wear a rubber hot dog suit if I wanted to.” 

“I’d pay to see that.” Jughead chuckled, but quickly stifled it when the joke was lost on Luke. “Alright boss I’ll be down in 15.” 

“Don’t call me boss.” Luke said over his shoulder before turning back to face Jughead. “And- and don’t call me Uncle Luke. It’s just… Luke.” He said finally. 

“Okay Just Luke.” He teased. 

Luke simply huffed and made his leave, closing the door behind him. 

Jughead stood there for a moment, running his hands over his face and threw his hair, willing himself to wake up more. As he dressed, he thought back to the only other job he had had, at the Twilight Drive-In Movie theater. He had worked there for 3 years straight before the town had decided it wasn't worth it to have open and closed it down one weekend without notice. By the next weekend it had been completely demolished to make way for a high-rise apartment complex. I’ll take small town corruption for 300 Alex Jughead thought to himself. 

Not wanting to annoy his Uncle any further, Jughead quickly dressed in a pair of black jeans and a dark grey t shirt with a black S on it. He wrapped the apron around his waist as he made his way down the stairs, his hair falling into his face. He wasn’t used to not wearing his beanie unless he was riding his bike, but then his helmet was on. He thought idly he may need a haircut. 

“Morning sunshine.” Betty sang from behind the counter, stopping him almost dead in his tracks. “Sleep well?” 

“You didn’t mention the diner when you listed off all the placed you worked yesterday.” He replied. 

“That’s because she doesn’t work here.” Luke muttered under his breath but loud enough for Jughead and Betty to hear, as he fiddled with the cash register. 

Betty rolled her eyes. “Luke only ever calls me in when he needs the help.” 

“And only then.” He muttered again. 

“He doesn’t think I should be working here, or in town at all.” Betty said, again rolling her eye. 

“Because she shouldn’t.” Luke said, this time straight to Jughead, as he slammed the register drawer shut. “She should be off at college or on some adventure or something. Same with you.” He said pointing a finger right at Jughead. 

He watched as Betty stiffened, something Luke seemed to notice too. “Plus, she’s always messing with my system and reorganizing everything.” He added, clearly hoping to change the subject or soften the blow of his previous statement. 

“That’s because your system sucks Luke.” Betty replied, going back to whatever task she had been occupied by before he arrived. 

“Okay so what do I do?” Jughead asked as deesperatly wanting to break the tension and change the subject. 

“People come in, they sit down, you take their order, you write it down on this notepad, you take the paper and put it up there and wait for the food to be done. In the meantime, if they want drinks you, get them drinks. Glasses are there, coffee, soda, tea.” He listed off everything, pointing to each individual item. “Pie is over there, stick it in the warming oven for 5 minutes before serving, top it with whipped cream, simple.” 

“That’s it? Are the tables numbered or?” 

“No, no numbering system. There’s ten tables, if you can’t remember what food belongs to what table, then I’ll stick you back there flipping burger and sloshing grease.” Luke rattled off. “I’m leaving now. If you have any questions, ask Betty not Caesar.” He finished before waving bye to Betty and leaving. 

“Wow, he is one grumpy dude.” Jughead said to Betty as he approached the empty counter. “So, when do we open?” 

“We're already open.” Betty replied nonchalantly. 

Jughead looked around at the empty diner and then checked his phone. It read 8:30am and for a moment he worried that maybe his Uncle’s business wasn’t doing so good. Betty must have read his face. 

“The breakfast rush starts around 6:30am and it's over by 8. Luke handles that by himself though. Lunch and dinner will be one us, and trust me, it will get busy.” Betty explained. 

“Jeeze 6:30am? Why is everyone awake so early?” 

“Most people travel to Hartford or further for work. I mean aside from the local business owners of course, all of whom also stop in for breakfast. It’s good to get an early start anyway.” Betty explained further as she came around the counter and began wiping off the tables that already looked perfectly clean. 

“So, who are you filling in for today?” 

“Kwan. His band is leaving today for a big gig in South Jersey. He’ll be back by Friday though so you’re only stuck with me for a week.” 

“His band?” Jughead questioned. 

“Yea, he's a drummer in a local band called the Archies. It’s him, our friend Archie, and two guys from Woodbridge high. You’ll probably meet them this weekend.” 

"This weekend?” So far Jughead felt like this conversation had been pretty one sided, him just asking simple questions and waiting for Betty’s explanation. 

“Yea! At the party we're throwing at the lake. You have to come!” She made it a point to look up at him then, and he couldn't say no if he wanted to. 

“Alright." In truth it’s not like he would have anything better to do and the idea of seeing Betty let lose at a party seemed intriguing enough. 

“Perfect!” She chirped, clapping her hands together before returning to her work. 

By lunch time, just as Betty had said, the place was packed. Thankfully it didn’t take him long to figure out the system and surprisingly enough it wasn’t hard to remember what table ordered what food. Betty was almost a pro, balancing multiple plates on one arm and smiling warmly at every customer that walked through the door. Charming wasn’t exactly a characteristic anyone would use to describe Jughead, so he just went for polite, which seemed to work well enough. Caesar, who he figured out was Luke’s cook, was a pleasantly funny guy to work with and the three of them together made the day go by quickly without a hitch. 

The lunch rush quickly gave way to short lull in the day where Betty and Jughead cleaned tables, restocked shelves, and refilled various containers until the dinner rush swept in without much warning. Unlike the lunch time, dinner seemed to bring a less patient crowd and when Jughead messed up an order for a man named Taylor Doose he was almost sure this would be the end of him. Betty of course swooped and saved him though. 

About an hour after the dinner rush had died down, and the diner was relatively empty, Jughead felt, as much as he heard, his stomach growl. Betty had apparently heard it as well. 

“Hey Caesar, can you whip us up two cheeseburgers with fries?” She called back to the kitchen as Jughead raised one eyebrow at her. 

“No problemo Betty White.” He called back. 

A few minutes later Betty placed a large plate in front of him as he sat at the counter and he felt his mouth drool. Without thinking he picked up the cheese burger and took a huge bite, while Betty took a seat next to him at the counter. Seeing her look at him out of the corner of his eye he instantly flushed. “Jeeze sorry. I was just really hungry. Thank you for this though.” 

“Don’t thank me, Caesar is the one that cooked them.” She quipped, taking a bite of her own burger. 

“Thank you so much Caesar, this is delicious!” Jughead yelled in the direction of the kitchen. 

“You are very welcome Jughandle!” He called back out. 

They both laughed and proceeded to enjoy their burger in silence. 

Around 7:00 Betty informed him it was about time to start closing. They wiped down every table, Jughead moped the floor while Betty cleaned up behind the counter, and Caesar cleaned off the grill. Jughead watched as Betty explained how to count the drawer and where to put the money when he was done, as well as how to set up so the diner was ready for the morning. Caesar left first leaving him and Betty to turn off all the lights and such. 

After all but one light was turned off, they both sort of lingered by the counter. For a brief moment Jughead thought about inviting Betty up, but quickly pushed the thought out of his head. They had only known each other for two days and while they were honestly friendly enough, it still might have seemed like he was crossing a line. 

“See you tomorrow Betts.” He simply said. 

“Yea, see you tomorrow Juggie.” Betty replied, the nickname sounding like a prayer on her tongue. He followed her out, closing and locking the door behind her, and then watched as she walked down the street. 

He trudged his way up stairs, feeling more tired than he had felt in a while. Flopping down on his bed, not bothering to even undress or take his shoes off, the salvation of sleep found him quickly as images of green and gold played on a loop behind his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! Sorry for the longer wait. I've had this chapter (and the next) written for a while but it needed to be proof read and all that and life just got the better of me! 
> 
> I feel like this chapter kick starts the pace a bit! We've gotten to know our characters pretty well so now we are gonna dive into some stuff! 
> 
> I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Leave a comment and tell me what you think! As always you can follow me at serpentbettyj0nes on tumblr!

Friday morning Betty woke up feeling something unfamiliar, almost like excitement but with an edge. The past week had gone by in kind of blur, everyday consisting of the same; wake up, work at Luke's with Jughead, walk home, fall asleep reading, repeat. She honestly couldn't complain though. Working with Jughead hadn't really felt like work at all. Between the long glances from across the diner and discussing all sorts of books and movies over cheeseburgers and fries, it felt like something altogether different. 

Jughead had felt like something akin to a breath of fresh air. He was completely different from anyone she had ever met with his ever-present dark humor and steel blue eyes that felt like they could see right into her soul. Betty had had crush's before, in fact just last year she had felt particularly swoony over Archie Andrews, the guitarist and lead singer in Kwan's band. She met him at a party over in Woodbridge and after a rather boring and awkward first date, followed by an equally awkward kiss, they both realized there was nothing there and agreed to be friends. Even before him though there had been the half a handful of boys she had felt a fluttering of small butterflies in her stomach for. Boys she let kiss her and slip a hand up her shirt a few times, but it never really went anywhere with them, physically or emotionally. She never felt that passion or fire that she read about in all the best romantic novels. 

A fluttering of butterflies would be somewhat of an understatement were she to try to put into words what a simple glance in her direction from Jughead did to her. She couldn't even begin to explain the rush of tingling electric she felt whenever their hands accidently grazed or his body ever so slightly brushed up against hers while trying to slide past her behind the crowded counter. She was almost sure she wore a near permanent blush this entire week as her mind travelled with all sorts of thoughts about Jughead and his hands and lips as he talked animatedly about yet another Quentin Tarantino movie. Honestly, he could talk about paint drying and she'd be more than happy to sit and listen for hours. 

Betty sighed feeling her face flush hot yet again as she started getting out of bed. This was her last day working at Luke's and tonight was the first big party of the summer. She had invited Jughead in the beginning of the week and to her surprise he actually, said yes. She couldn't stop the grin that grew on her face at the thought. 

After dressing in her shortest pair of denim cut off's and a tight light pink shirt that dipped a little lower then she was usually comfortable wearing, Betty headed out the door to Luke's. Admittedly, this entire week she had found herself paying closer attention to the way she looked then she ever remembered doing in the past. She couldn't help it if she liked the feeling it gave her to catch Jughead looking at her legs, or when she would watch him physically struggle to keep his eyes focused on her face and not her cleavage. It might sound juvenile, or maybe even a little to that girl-ish, but it felt good to be looked at and checked out. Of course, Jughead wasn't a perv about it, and perhaps that's why she liked it so much. 

As she walked into Luke's, the familiar bell chiming above, she was confused to find Kwan standing behind the counter. Confusion, however, wasn't the word she would use to describe the look Kwan was wearing when he looked up at her. Maybe the shorts and shirt were a bad idea Betty thought, but then Jughead came out from the back room, wearing a look similar to Kwan's yet somehow different and she no longer cared. 

"Hey Kwan what are you doing here?" Betty asked, coming around the counter and tying her apron on. 

"The band and I got back a little earlier last night so I figured I'd come in and grab some extra hours." He said, while filling out his time cards. He looked up at her then, with an expression she couldn't read, before clicking his pen and placing it behind his ear. 

Just then a loud bang came from the kitchen that caused her and Kwan both to jump. 

"Stupid useless piece of-" Luke was stumbling out of the kitchen, followed by a dark cloud of smoke and the sound of Caesar laughing, when he spotted Betty and stopped. "Oh, hey Betty." 

"Hey Luke. Everything okay?" She asked hesitantly. 

"Yea, the stupid thing is just... eh it's not important." Luke replied removing his hat and running his fingers through his hair. This is something she had noticed Jughead do with his beanie, a sign of nervousness or agitation, and she wondered for a moment if this was some genetic trait they both shared. 

"Okay. Well, I know Kwan is here but, I kind of don't have any other plans since I thought I was working today so is it cool if I stay?" Honestly, she could probably find something else to do. There were always hours to be picked up at the soda shop, and it's not like she had never spent a day on the porch reading before, but she wanted to be here, to be around Jughead. 

"Yea sure, that's fine. Lorelai needs me to work on some things around the Inn today so that's where I'll be if any of you need me." He explained as he made his way around the counter. "Jughead, uh, you got any plans tomorrow?" Betty watched as Luke approached Jughead in the most awkward way. 

"None that I know of, why?" He replied, pretending to busy himself with wiping the table he was standing by. Betty was doing the same, only with the counter, trying hard not to appear like she was listening to their conversation. From the corner of her eye she could feel Kwan's gaze nearly burning through her. 

"Well I was planning on heading out on the lake and trying to get some fishing done. I'd like it if you came with me. Maybe give us a chance to, I don't know, talk or not talk, or whatever." 

"That would be cool. I've never been fishing before." Jughead replied with a slight smile Betty was sure he was holding back from turning into a full grin. 

"Well, okay. I'll be here around 9 to pick you up." Luke responded, turning toward the door. 

"Sounds good." Jughead said as Luke exited the diner. Once the door was closed Jughead turned toward her. Their eyes locked and for about the millionth time since he rode into her little town, her stomach jumped. "Hi." He said to her with a smile. 

"Hi." She smiled back, feeling her face burn hot. 

The diner was empty, being the lull after breakfast and before lunch. For the last week, her and Jughead would fall into easy conversation, filling the time, but today, with Kwan there, everything felt a bit more awkward. 

She finished wiping down the counter and started refiling any ketchup bottles that needed refilling. All busy work just to help cut some of the tension in the air. After that was done, and she felt like she couldn't take it, she decided to break the silence. 

"So, Kwan you're going to the party tonight right?" She asked, turning toward him. He was sitting at the counter with his face buried in his phone. 

"Yup." He replied flatly without looking up. Betty felt a prickle of frustration growing in her gut. Before this stupid crush and his unexpected and unwelcome profession of love, Kwan had been her best friend, and there was no reason that couldn't still be true. Deciding that she was not going to let this come between them, she took a deep breath and tried again. 

"Good! It's the first party of the summer. You bringing anyone?" She asked in her most cheery voice. 

"What's it to you if I am?" He asked, looking up at her, with an air of arrogance that left a bad taste in her mouth. Jughead's words from when they were at the lake last weekend came back to her. "If he truly cared about you, maintaining the friendship, despite your lack of romantic feelings toward him, should be important. Clearly it’s not." Betty felt the frustration from before start to bloom into something closer to actual anger and without realizing she was doing it, she curled her fingers inward, feeling the sting of her nails digging into her palm. 

"What is your problem Kwan?" The words came out of her mouth with venom. 

"Excuse me? I don't have a problem Betty." He replied, seemingly shocked by Betty's tone. 

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Jughead starting to approach them, somewhat apprehensively. "Clearly you do. You have been nothing but an asshole to me since our graduation dinner and honestly, I'm over it. We're best friend's Kwan! I'm sorry that I don't like you like that but this stupid crush, it shouldn't be coming between us!" 

"Oh, fuck off Betty." The words flew out of his mouth so easily Betty almost wasn't sure she heard him right. "Don't stand there and pull that innocent helpless shit with me. You're right, we were best friends, so I know that you've known about my 'stupid crush' since long before fucking graduation. You're not mad that I'm being an asshole, you're mad that I'm not falling all over you and drooling every time you walk into the room anymore. Don't worry though. Donnie Darko over here has you covered. Although, the way you've got your tits on display today I'm sure you already knew that." Betty felt the tears pull at the rim of her eyes and the harsh sting of her nails in her palm. 

"Alright asshole that's enough. You don't need to talk to her like that." Jughead was now standing right next to Kwan, nearly nose to nose with him. 

"Back up Romeo. This isn't even fucking about you." Kwan said, shoving Jughead back. 

"It doesn't have to be about me. You're not going to be a dick to her." Jughead replied with a shove of his own. 

"Stop it!" Betty finally managed to yell. The tears were falling now and she was sure her hands were probably bloody but she didn't care. She wasn't going to let them throw down right here in Luke's and then have to explain that him later. 

"I'm over this bullshit. I'm leaving." Kwan said, untying his apron and letting it fall to the floor. Betty watched as he swung the door open forcefully and walked out. 

She couldn't believe the things Kwan had said. They had been best friends since they were 12 and sure, they've had their fair share of fights, but he had never talked to her liked that. 

"Are you okay?" At some point Jughead had come behind the counter and was now cradling Betty's face in his hands, his eyes locked with hers, searching for a sign that she was indeed okay. For a moment Betty felt like she couldn’t' breath, and not because of what had just happened with Kwan, but because Jughead's hands were soft and warm on her cheeks and his mouth was so close to hers she could feel his breath. 

"I'm... I'm okay." She managed to breath out. He opened his mouth has if he wanted to say something more, do something more, but the door chimed signaling someone had entered the diner and they both jumped apart. 

A moment later Jughead went to wait on the customer while Betty snuck off to the bathroom. After she was inside, she peered down at the mess that were her hands. They weren't as bloody as she expected, but still enough to scare her. This has been the second time she had broken the skin on her palms with her finger nails, and she hadn't even realized she had been doing it. 

After washing her hands and splashing some cold water on her face Betty returned to the diner to help Jughead. The lunch rush was in full effect leaving her no time to dwell on the nasty things Kwan had said to her or the way Jughead's hands felt on her skin. Instead she plastered on her best fake smile and busied herself with serving dish after dish and still managing to charm the pants off everyone that came in. 

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Unfortunately, or maybe thankfully, there hadn't been any real break between the lunch and dinner rushes. Between a birthday celebration for a man who turned 60 today that took up nearly half the diner, a small van of a cappella singers passing through town on their way down to New York, and the usual crowd from town, Betty and Jughead hadn't had time to sit even once, let alone talk or eat. 

By the time 7:00 rolled around Betty felt like her legs were going to give out and her stomach was going to eat itself. She was sure Jughead felt the same as he sat at the end of the counter with his head on his arms, like a child asleep at their desk in elementary school, so she asked Caesar to whip them up some burgers and fries before he started cleaning off the grill in preparation for closing. 

"Here. Eat. Before you pass out and I have to have Caesar carry you upstairs." She said, sliding the plate in front of him as she sat down next to him. She couldn't help but warm at the smile he gave her as thanks. 

"Oh my god this is so good." Jughead said lovingly to his burger as he took another bite. 

They ate in a somewhat comfortable silence for a while before Jughead spoke up. 

"Hey Betty I'm sorry about earlier. I know it wasn’t my place but he was being such an asshole I just couldn't stand there and say nothing." Jughead said, getting up to pour them each a cup of coffee. The warm familiar scent filled Betty's lungs and she felt herself relax for the first time all day. 

"You don't have to apologize Jughead. You're right, he was being an asshole." Betty said, looking down at her coffee. 

"He in an asshole." Jughead corrected. 

"He's not though. At least he never used to be. God we've been best friends for six years and I have never heard him talk like that to anyone, especially not me. All over a stupid crush." Betty sighed. 

They drank their coffee in silence until Caesar announced it was time to start closing up. They each busied themselves with different tasks; Betty counted the drawer while Jughead mopped. Once everything was done, and Caesar said his goodbye's, they were once again alone in the half-lit diner. 

"So what time is this party tonight?" Jughead asked as they stood awkwardly by the front door. After everything that had happened today Betty nearly forgot about the party. It must have shown on her face. "Or did you forget?" 

"Wow, yea actually I did." She laughed. "It usually doesn't really get going until late. How about you meet me at my mouse around 10 and we'll walk over together?" 

"Sounds good to me." He replied. 

With that they said goodbye as he closed and locked the door behind her. The air outside the diner was warm and the sun was just starting to settle into the horizon, basking the whole town in a warm dewy glow. She paused for a moment to close her eyes and breath it all in, willing it to cleanse her whole body of all of the nonsense of the day. Regardless of what happened today, Jughead would be at her house later to walk over to the lake with her and the simple thought warmed her from the inside out. He had defended her today, almost instinctively it seemed, and while the entire situation frustrated her, she couldn't help but feel slightly giddy as she remembered how angry he got in her defense. 

She pulled her headphones out of her purse and hit play, letting the raspy jazzy voice of Macy Gray fill her ears as she made her way home.   
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After arriving home Betty had showered quickly, wanting to let her hair dry a bit so her Aunt could curl it for her. She was standing in her room mulling over what she wanted to wear, knowing it could get kind of chilly by the lake at night, but still wanting to look cute, when her Aunt came in. 

"Hey kid." Lorelai said, standing in the door way, leaning to one side with her arms crossed. 

"Oh, hey Lorelai." Betty said over her shoulder. 

"Whatcha doin?" 

Betty sighed. "Just trying to figure out what to wear to the lake party tonight. Oh, could you curl my hair for me? I alright turned the curling wand on." She said, gesturing toward her vanity, where the wand was plugged in. 

"Sure. Sit." Betty sat down as her Aunt began to run a small comb through her long blonde hair. This was one of Betty's favorite things; sitting at her vanity talking to her Aunt about books, and music, and even sometimes boys, while she curled her hair for her. "So, why the sudden inability to dress yourself for a boring old party at the lake?" 

Betty felt her cheeks flush. In truth, what to wear had never been an issue Betty had. Even on the handful of dates she'd been on throughout high school she still never really worried herself to much with how she would look. "I don't know, just want to be casual but cute I guess." Betty cringed as the words left her mouth. 

"Casual but cute? Okay Betty what is really going on? This wouldn't have something to do with a certain broody motorcycle riding bad boy that you've been spending all your waking hours with working at Luke's would it?" 

Betty felt her whole body stiffen. Though her Aunt and Luke seemed to be past the fight about Jughead coming to live here, there was still an awkward tension. Betty didn’t know what Lorelai really felt about Jughead and she wasn't sure if she wanted her to know she might be (definitely was) harboring a growing crush for him. On the other hand, she's never lied to her Aunt and doesn't want to start now. In fact, she would really love to be talking to her about this. 

"I... maybe... I don't know. I know you don't like him but he's really smart and-" Betty was about to leap into a whole monologue about how smart and amazing he was when her Aunt cut her off. 

"Whoa whoa whoa, when did I say I didn't like him? I don't even know him." Lorelai defending, putting the curling wand down and moving to face Betty. 

"Well you didn't exactly, but you and Luke were fighting for days about him and even now it still feels awkward." 

"Oh honey. You're Uncle Luke and I weren't fighting because I don't like Jughead. If there's anything I learned from the experience with Jess it's that you can't judge a book by its cover, or the synopsis on the back for that matter." She said waving a hand, before taking a seat on the small ottoman at the end of Betty's bed. "I may not like what I've heard about him, but for all I know he could be a great guy." She added, brushing a lose strand of hair behind Betty's ear. 

"Then why were you fighting?" Betty hesitantly asked. 

"We were fighting because your adorably frustrating Uncle has a habit of making decisions without me. It just brought up some old wounds from the past but I'm over it, well mostly over it. Honestly, I think I've dragged it out this long just for the extra boxes of Mallomar's that keep appearing in the cabinet." She laughed, returning to curling Betty's hair. 

Betty felt a wave of relief wash over her. For a brief moment she had worried that her Aunt would be upset with her for having feelings, however innocent they are or aren't, for Jughead. She had also worried that Lorelai was indeed judging Jughead before she knew him and didn't think that was fair. 

"So, tell me about Jug-head. What's he like?" Betty chuckled at the way her Aunt said his name. 

"He's.. Great." Betty started wistfully. "He read's a lot, almost as much as me. He's really into Quentin Tarantino movies." 

"Kid's got good taste. So far so good. What about the gang stuff?" Betty cringed a bit, half expecting her Aunt to ask. 

"The way he describes it, it's not something he ever wanted for himself. It was more a means of survival then anything. I think he's happy to away from it all." Betty wasn't sure how much she should tell Lorelai. Jughead had been so open an honest that first night walking home from the lake and she didn't want to betray that by telling his story. 

"That's usually how it starts." Lorelai said flatly. 

"Yea. But really, he's just a lot of fun. He's got a dark twisted sense of humor. Reminds me of you a bit actually." Betty smiled as she made eye contact with Lorelai through the mirror. It was the truth. 

"Well then it sounds like I've got nothing to worry about." Lorelai said with finality as she unplugged the curling wand. "There my lady, your hair is doneth." 

"Thank you! Now, if I could only figure out something to wear." 

"Your light blue denim skirt, the one with the frayed edges. It's short and you've got killer legs. Pair it with..." Lorelai paused, pulling a few items from Betty's wardrobe. "Ah this long sleeve white t-shirt and your strappy sandals. No jacket, this way if you get cold, you can take his." 

"What if he's not wearing a jacket?" Betty questioned. 

"Then he'll just have to use his arms to warm you up." Lorelai quipped. 

"How, how do you do that? I've been looking at my clothes for the last hour and came up with nothing!?" Betty was amazed. The outfit was perfect. 

"It comes from years and years of experience. Now I take it he's meeting you here?" 

"Yea actually, I told him to meet me here at 10." Betty said, pulling her shirt over her head. 

"Then you better hurry up because you've got about five minutes until then." 

"Shoot!" Betty said, suddenly feeling very rushed and very nervous. 

Exactly five minutes later Betty's doorbell was ringing. She quickly said her goodbyes to Luke and Lorelai, promising not to be out to late, before checking herself in the mirror one last time. When she opened the door she nearly lost her breath. Jughead was wearing a pair of dark black jeans with his suspenders hung from his hips like the first day she met him. His upper body covered in a fitted grey sweater and for the first time Betty noticed how broad his shoulders were and how muscular his arms seemed to be. His beanie was, as always, on top of his head doing little to conceal the inky black curls the hung wildly around his forehead, one rather unruly one falling in front of his eyes. 

He appeared to be taking her in in the same way she was him. His eyes wide as she watched them travel down to her legs. He was always looking at her legs. 

"Ready to go?" She asked finally. 

"Uh yea. Lead the way." He said after clearing his throat. 

Betty did just that, skipping down the steps, feeling his gaze burn into her from behind. 

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The walk to the lake is short but enjoyable. As they approach the opening in the woods that leads the small wooden foot bridge that connects Woodbridge and Star Hollow Betty can hear the sound of the music pumping through the trees. She catches a glance of Jughead out of the corner of her eye and notices him fidgeting with his beanie. 

"Nervous?" She asks, slowing her pace before coming to a stop. 

"Ah, you could say that. Parties, meeting new people, it's always... an experience." His eyes are wide as he focus's somewhere in the distance and for a moment Betty wonder's if they should just turn around and go do something else. "But being here with you is... it's nice." Betty feels her whole body warm, from the tips of her toes to the tops of her ears, it's a radiating heat that she's sure he can feel to because he's looking at her with stars in his eyes and for a moment she forgets where they even are. 

"Betty!" A voice rings out from behind her and it takes a moment for her to recognize who it is, mostly because she's swimming in the icy blue ocean that is Jughead's eyes, struggling to breath. 

When she turns around a girl with raven hair and a smile that could either light up a room or bring a man to his knees is walking toward her with her arms stretched out. It was Veronica Lodge, one of Betty's only girlfriends. 

"Veronica!" Betty gathered Veronica up in a tight hug. Though they went to different high schools, Veronica and Betty had grown close over the last three years. "I've missed you!" 

"I've missed you too B! Let us vow to never again to go this long without seeing each other!" Veronica said still holding Betty. 

"Deal!" Betty promised before turning her attention to Jughead who was standing off to the side looking uncomfortable. "V this is Jughead. He's Luke's nephew. He moved here from New York last weekend." 

"New York, those are my old stomping grounds. Where from in New York?" Veronica's eyes were wide with intrigue. 

"Very upstate. Riverdale." Jughead replied somewhat flatly. 

"Never heard of it." Veronica laughed before turning back to Betty. "Okay so, before we all head off to indulge in a little teenage rebellion, I just wanted to make sure that-" Veronica was cut off by Archie Andrew's coming up behind her, placing his arm around her. 

"Hey Betty." Archie was the lead singer in Kwan's band, The Archies, and was also the guy she had gone on one awkward date with a month ago. Like Jughead, he seemed to stand out like a sore thumb, mostly because of his striking red hair though. 

"Hey Archie. This is Jughead." Betty realizes she will probably be saying This is Jughead quite a bit tonight. 

"Hey man, I've heard... about you." Archie's face is contorted as he extends a hand toward Jughead and Betty knows immediately Kwan must have told about what happened at Luke's earlier. She suddenly feels prickle of frustration growing in her gut again. 

"Hey. Hopefully it wasn't all bad." Jughead shakes Archie's hand quickly and they both share an awkward laugh before Archie announces he's going to say high to everyone and get him and Veronica drinks. 

As Betty, Veronica, and Jughead make their way toward the lake, she realized Veronica and Archie came together and that Veronica was probably about to explain herself before he walked up. 

"By the way V, you don't have to explain why you're here with Archie. I think it's great!" She wasn't lying. Nothing had happened between her and Archie and there were no feelings there. If him and Veronica were to become a thing, she would be happy for Veronica. She deserved to be happy. 

"Are you sure B? I know you guys only went on one date but I just didn’t want to breaking any kind of girl codes or anything." The sincerity in Veronica's voice made Betty smile. 

"No codes broken. I'm happy for you!" 

"Oh, thank god! I've been worried about it all week!" Veronica squeezes Betty's arm. "Okay I'm going to go find Archie. I'll see you guys in a bit." Betty watched as Veronica bounced away, in search of Archie. 

She led Jughead over the small bonfire near the edge of the lake. It was Betty's favorite place at lake parties; quiet enough to talk, but you could stilll hear the music and feel the atmosphere. She grabbed them each a red solo cup, filling them at the keg, before sitting down on a log by the fire. 

"So, this is a Stars Hollow Lake party." Jughead said, taking a sip of his beer. Betty watched as his Adams apple bobbed and she had to focus her breathing and remind herself it wasn't polite to stare. 

"Yup. This is it!" She said after a moment. "It's probably nothing compared to the parties you're used to but we like it." 

"I'm not really much of a party guy to be honest but this is okay. It's way more laid back then I expected if I'm being honest." 

"Well I'm glad you're having fun. For a moment there I was worried." Betty replied, playfully leaning a should into him. 

To her surprise, Jughead wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into his side in sort of a tight hug, and Betty leaned her head on him, trying harder than she's ever had to control her breathing. "I always have fun when I'm with you Betts." His voice was low, with a hint of something she couldn't place in his tone. 

Without giving much thought to the action, Betty looked up at him, her face not even an inch from his. He was looking at her with hooded eyes and before she could talk herself out of it she angled her face up ever so slightly and met his lips with hers. They were soft and warm yet somehow sent shivers through her whole body. The kiss was short, too short, but the look on his face when he pulled back was worth it. 

In all the romance novels she had read over the years there hadn't been a single sentence she felt adequately described what she was experiencing right now. Her lips tingled and her whole body vibrated and all she could think was more. She wanted more. She wanted to kiss him again, deeper. She wanted to know what the skin at his pulse point tasted like. How his hands felt spread across her body. She had to remind herself they were in public, sitting on a log by a fire in front of a dozen or so of her friends or else she might just kiss him again and not stop. 

Jughead seemed to be feeling it to. She watched as he swallowed hard and let out a breath he must have been holding before turning to take a sip of his drink, eyes focus's forward. Betty decided to do the same, sitting up to take a rather large gulp of her cheap beer. 

Just as she was about to saw something, anything, to break the tension, Veronica reappeared. 

"Okay so Kwan is what can only be described as trashed." Veronica said, taking a seat on the log next to Betty, sipping from her own red cup. 

"Seriously? How long as he been here?" It wasn't like Kwan to get drunk, at least not that drunk. 

"I don't know. Archie said someone told him Kwan showed up pretty drunk." She paused to take a sip of her beer. "And with Cheryl." 

"Cheryl Blossom?" Betty questioned, not trying to hide the shock in her voice. 

"The one and only." Veronica replied flatly. 

"Who is Cheryl Blossom?" Jughead asked. 

"She's Woodbridges very own self-proclaimed mean girl. Her family is one of the original settlers of Woodbridge and when I say they are rich, I mean filthy. As in, they own half the land of Woodbridge." She explained. 

"Yea and she's what we affectionately call, a bitch." Veronica continued, polishing off her drink. "I'm going to get another." 

Why would Kwan be showing up with Cheryl? Not only did they not go to the same school, Cheryl was a whole year ahead of them and it seems wildly unlikely that Cheryl would ever go for a guy like Kwan. 

"Sounds like they deserve each other then." Jughead mused next to her, interrupting her thoughts. 

"I told you he's not usually a bad guy he's just-" Once again Betty was interrupted by someone calling her name. This time it was Stevie. 

"Hey Stevie!" She said, standing to give him a hug. 

"Hey Betty, hey Jughead. Having fun?" He was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, flips flops, and nothing else, carrying a half empty bottle of Miller Lite. 

"Clearly not as much fun as you. Where's your clothes?" Betty asked, gesturing to his chest. 

"Ya know, I'm tired of you always objectifying me Cooper. Free the nipple!" Stevie yelled out raising his arms in the air. 

Betty rolled her eyes while Jughead lightly chucked. "You're hilarious. So, what's this I hear about Kwan already being trashed." 

"Screw Kwan. That dude's been an asshole all day. He went off on me this afternoon about literally nothing. You know, they say twins are supposed to have this awesome unique connection. They lied." He was clearly angry but Betty could sense something else, maybe disappointment. It was true that Kwan and Stevie had started growing more distant from each other as they got older. Betty just figured it was because they were growing into their own person, finding identities outside of being twins, but looking at Stevie's face and hearing his tone, maybe there was something else. "Oh crap. There's Kevin Keller. I heard him and Moose just broke up. Catch you guys later." 

Betty shook her head as she watched Stevie run off toward his next conquest. Suddenly Betty felt out of place. This party was supposed to fun, a way to kick off what could possibly be the last summer they are all together like this. Instead there seemed to be this sticky tension in the air. 

Just as she was about to suggest to Jughead that they leave and find something else to do she heard Archie and Kwan's voice. 

"Archie, Archie, bro, I'm not even that drunk." They were coming across the foot bridge. Archie was lightly leading Kwan by his shoulders. 

"Yea yea, I know dude it's all good." It was clear Archie was trying to get Kwan to leave. 

"What are you doing here?" Kwan's eyes were focused just over Betty's shoulder and when she turned to see who he was talking to, she realized it was Jughead. 

"You heard me Wednesday Adam's, what the fuck are you doing here?" Kwan had suddenly gained enough sobriety to push past a few people, leaving Archie behind him a bit confused, as he stopped about three feet from Jughead. 

"I'm pretty sure I was invited. By Betty." Jughead's eyes were focused on Kwan's. If he was at all phased by what was happening he wasn't showing it. His hands were casually in his pockets as he stood there, his chest puffed out a bit making his shoulders look ever broader. Betty knew it was the wrong time but she mentally burned the image in her brain because god he looks so sexy. 

"I don't care if the Pope invited you. You don't belong here loser." Kwan's words were spat like venom in Jughead's direction. 

"Calm down Kwan, this isn't' the O.C." Again, Jughead's expression remained neutral, almost like he was bored. Betty wanted desperately to cut in, break the tension, but just like everyone around her, she couldn't breathe let alone speak. 

"You think you're so cool with your combat boots and your motorcycle, when really you're just a fucking coward who had to come live with his Uncle because he couldn't handle being in a gang." 

Betty could almost feel the tensions spike. She watched as Jughead flared his nostril, trying desperately to control his breathing. 

"Ya know Kwan, if you really think my motorcycle is that cool, all you have to do is ask. I'd gladly give you a ride." 

The next three minutes almost seemed to happen in slow motion. Betty watched with horror as Kwan swung back, landing a punch right on Jughead's cheek bone. She half expected him to fall backward or at least stumble, but he barely budged, instead he swung back and landed a punch of his own directly on Kwan's nose. She could hear the bones crack as his blood went splattering. 

After that it was just a tangle of their bodies. Kwan trying to wrestle Jughead to the ground and failing, Archie and Stevie trying desperately to pull the boys apart and also failing, and Betty doing her best not to dig her nails into her palms any further. She felt powerless to stop the fight. 

Finally, Jughead managed to back Kwan up against a tree, his forearm digging into his throat. "Enough Kwan! I don't know what the fuck your problem is but you don't want this fight." Jughead's voice was deep and rough, and he was breathing heavy. Betty didn’t' recognize the look in his eyes; the icy blue now a deep navy, almost black. 

Kwan seemed to register the fact that he was indeed not going to win this fight and put his arms up in surrender, falling to the floor a moment later when Jughead let go of him. Everything happened so fast Betty could hardly make sense of what to do. Kwan was laying on the ground with Archie hovering over him and Jughead had quickly disappeared, heading toward the exit. Almost on instinct Betty followed after him. 

"Jughead! Jughead wait! Are you okay?" She was almost running to catch up with him. 

"I'm fine Betty. Go back to your friends." He didn't even bother to turn around and Betty felt a slight hinge of guilt. 

"Jughead stop!" The words came out of her mouth a bit harsher then she meant, but they still had the desired effect. He stopped. 

Jughead turned to face her and she could see the blood running down his cheek where Kwan's fist had met his face. "You need to ice this." She took his face in her hands gingerly, turning toward the moonlight to get a better look. 

"I'll be sure to do that." He said, before starting to walk away again. 

"Wait where are you going?" 

"Home. Away from here." Again, he didn't bother to stop or look at her, but Betty managed to keep up with his pace. 

"Look Jughead, I am so sorry about what happened back there. Kwan is... well he's a fucking asshole. I can't believe-" Her words were cut off when Jughead stopped. He was looking at her with a slight grin. "What?" 

"I don't think I've ever heard you say fuck before." He replied, not managing to hide his smirk. 

"Fuck off." She responded playfully. 

They started walking in the direction of his apartment again, this time at a more casual pace. Neither of them says anything for the duration. Betty was unsure of what else she could say. She had never seen Kwan behave like that and she couldn’t quiet the guilt she felt. It was her fault. It was clear Kwan didn't like Jughead because of her and Jughead had ended up with a bloody face because of it. 

They reached Luke's faster than Betty had wanted. She thinks back to their kiss earlier in the night, before the fight, and wishes desperately they could get back there. Jughead is standing in front of the door of the diner, seeming unsure of what to do with his hands, so Betty reaches out for one. He rubs his thumb over her knuckles as they both look down at the ground. 

Trying to muster some of the confidence she had had earlier when she kissed him, she looks up and find his eyes. "Let me come up with you." 

Jughead simply nods his head and turns and unlocks the door.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight warning, it's in the tags and indicated by the rating, but there is a bit of smut in this chapter and will be in later chapters. This will be the only warning though as I don't want to spoil it in future chapters.

Jughead sat on the plaid threadbare couch in Luke's brown apartment while Betty held frozen pea's he didn't know were in the freezer to his swollen and somewhat bloody cheek. She had been so concerned with tending to the wound that he didn't have the heart to tell her that compared to the beatings his face had taken over the last two years as a member of a sometimes-violent biker gang, this tiny cut was nothing. 

As Betty stared at him, her eyes wide with concern and sympathy, and possibly even guilt, he tried to think back to earlier, before Kwan had decided to go all O.C. on him, when he and Betty were sitting on the log by the fire and she had kissed him. Though he had been thinking about what her beautiful pouty lips might feel like up against his for a whole week now, he was still somehow surprised when she leaned up and pressed them into his. It would be way to cheesy and cliché to say it was like fireworks went off but unfortunately, he couldn't think of a better way to describe it. Well, he could, but that wasn't exactly PG and he wouldn't let his mind go there yet. 

"Here, hold this there." Her voice interrupted his thoughts as she lifted his hand to hold the frozen vegetables in place. 

"Betty this really isn't necessary, it's not even that bad." His pleas were falling on deaf ears. She returned next to him with a small first aid kit she had procured from under the sink. He watched as she took out a few of the contents. If she was at all shaken by what had happened, she didn't show it. 

"Betts, I'm sorry." His voice came out barley above a whisper. In truth, he wasn't sorry. Kwan deserved to be knocked out and he was lucky that Jughead didn't do just that, but at the end of the day he was Betty's best friend and this wasn't the impression he wanted to make. 

"Juggie, there's nothing for you to be sorry about. If anything, I should be sorry. I Invited you to that stupid party and..." She paused to wipe his face with something that made him wince. "Sorry." 

"It's not your fault. Kwan's an asshole but I get it." He did get it. This entire week he had felt an affection for Betty growing into what was now a full-blown crush, probably more than that. It had only been a week and he could only imagine what his reaction would have been had he saw her cuddled up next to another guy. Just thinking about it made his stomach twist so he could only imagine how Kwan felt. With that thought, something from earlier crossed his mind. "So, I take it you and that red head dated?" He wasn't sure if it was even his place to ask, but he figured at the very least it would change the subject and get Betty to stop looking at him the way she currently was. 

"Who? Archie? Oh, no. We went on one date. It was completely awkward and then he kissed me at the end and we both just about burst into laughter. There was zero chemistry." Jughead felt his whole body relax. He wasn’t even sure why he was feeling even slightly jealous. Sure, he and Betty had kissed, but they weren't together. She wasn't his; even if he desperately wanted her to be. "Why, you jealous?" He looked up at her then. Her usually emerald green eyes seemed almost impossibly dark in the dim light emanating from a single lamp on a side table in Luke's apartment. It was familiar, almost like earlier when she kissed him, only now there was something else swirling around in her iris's. 

Feeling the need to have some control, and also feeling like he had absolutely no control over what was happening, he reached a hand up to cup her cheek softly. She leaned into his touch, her eyes nearly clouding over and before he could think, his mouth was on hers. Their lips crashed together in what could only be described as fire. It was a smoldering fire that grew with every stroke of their tongue, every nip of their lips. Jughead used the hand cupping her cheek to angle her head and deepen the kiss. It sent shockwaves of electricity down his spine and all her could think was more more more. 

He reached up with his free hand, freeing her hair from its tight pony tail and tangling his fingers in at the nape of neck. Betty let out a soft moan and it was like it vibrated right between his legs as he felt himself growing harder. Her hands were tugging on the bottom hem of his shirt, and taking the hint, he broke their contact for the briefest of moments to lean forward and let her remove it. 

When he settled back down Betty climbed into his lap as she laced her hands around his neck. This time it was his turn to moan as she settled into his lap and her core made contact with his hardening length through the layer of his jeans and whatever the fabric of her panties was and she bucked her hips into him. He returned the small thrust almost involuntarily. 

He moved his mouth from hers and kissed his was down to her pulse point, where he sucked gently. Yet again she bucked her hips into him and a small 'fuck' escaped his lips. Needing to feel more of her skin, he leaned back slightly, grabbing the hem of her shirt and lifting it up over her head. 

"You're so beautiful Betts." The words came out like a poem he wanted to whisper into her skin as she looked down at him with hooded eyes, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. 

His hands found their way to her breasts cupping each one and rubbing his thumb over the thin fabric covering the puckered flesh of her nipples as he slowly dragged his tongue across her collar bones. This elicited a string of moans as Betty bucked her hips into to him again. Wanting to give her to the relief she was desperately searching for, he slid one hand from her breast, up under her skirt, to her waiting center. 

He rubbed small circled over the thin layer of fabric covering her clit. She was already socked through and the warm feeling of it on his finger did something to his body. He once again took Betty's mouth in his as he moved her panties the side, sliding two fingers between her folds, staring a slow circular motion. 

"Juggie." Betty's voice was laced with lust and the word almost came out as a cry. 

"Is that okay?" He whispered against her mouth. 

"Oh god yes." Was all she managed to say. 

He continued that motion for a while, his other hand busy freeing her breast from the cup of her bra. As he slid a single digit into her, he took her nipple into his mouth, sucking and flicking it with his tongue as he pumped his finger in and out of her slowly. She was warm and wet, and he was now almost painfully hard against the constriction of his jeans. 

As he looked up at Betty, her head flung back in ecstasy, her eyes shut, he was overcome with a fiery need to worship her body. He kissed and sucked his way up the base of her neck until he once again found her now swollen lips. He flicked his tongue across her bottom lip, bringing it between his teeth and biting down gently as he slipped a second finger inside her. 

"Fuck Juggie." Was all she managed to say as he began pumping harder, making sure to rub his palm again her sensitive clit with every pump. For a moment, he leaned back slightly and just watched her as she rode his hand to the brink. He could feel her beginning to tighten around his fingers and increased his pace. 

"Oh my god. I think... I'm, I'm going to..." He watched Betty's face flushed bright pink as she struggled to get the words out. 

"It's okay. Let go." He reassured her in a whisper against her lips. His words of encouragement were all she needed and moment later she nearly exploded, clenching tightly around his fingers and crying out as her orgasm made waves through her whole body. She was gripping his shoulders as tight as possible, her nails digging into the skin, but Jughead didn't mind the pain one bit. 

He sprinkled gentle kisses all over her face and mouth and neck, as he removed his fingers from inside her. He made sure to hold her close as she came down from her high. 

Betty's face was buried in the crook of his neck, her arms now wrapped around him. He wasn't sure how long they had stayed in that position, and honestly, he could hold her like this forever, rubbing small circles on the soft skin of her should, but admittedly he was starting to get worried. 

"Hey, Betts, you okay?" He asked hesitantly, sitting up slightly. 

She lifted her head a little, though not making eye contact. Even in the dim light he could see that her cheeks were flushed. "Yes, I'm..." She paused, tucking her hair behind her ear. "That was amazing. I've never... I'm a..." Jughead knew what she was trying to say. She was a virgin and clearly this had been a first for her. 

"Come here." He cupped her face, kissing her gently, and then rest his forehead on hers. "It's okay. We don't have to do anything else. You should have said something, or stopped me, or-" 

"No. No, I wanted to. God did I want to. I'm glad we did... I'm glad you did." She kissed him soundly before moving off his lap slowly as he reached down for her shirt. "This is awkward but I'm going to guess that you aren't?" She asked after she had pulled her shirt over her head and straightened her skirt. 

"A virgin? No, I'm not." 

"I figured." Jughead watched as yet again Betty's cheeks flushed bright pink. 

"Why, because I'm so good with my hands?" He smirked, thinking back to not even ten minutes earlier, to the image of Betty riding his fingers. 

"Oh my god, shut up." She wacked him with the back of her hand before burying her face in her hands. 

"Betty don't be embarrassed. There is nothing wrong with enjoying what we just did. Or enjoying sex for that matter." He reached out and lifted her head from her hands, cupping her cheeks in his as he turned to face her. 

"I know, I know. Trust me, I did very much enjoy it." 

"Oh, I know!" Betty rolled her eyes and tried to push him away but he just held on tighter, wrapping his arms around her. "Betty, I feel like this goes without saying at this point but, I really like you." 

"I really like you too Juggie." She was looking up at him through fluttering lash's, her brilliant green eyes shining brighter than ever. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, ever so gently before pulling away and then pulling her into his arms. 

They sat there cuddled up together on that dingy old couch for a while before Jughead pulled out his phone and checked the time. It was nearly 1am and he knew Luke and Lorelai would probably be expecting Betty home soon. Gathering the motivation to actually let her go was a whole other battle. 

"You should probably head home before Luke and Lorelai send out a search party." He said as he sat up, untangling his arms from around Betty. He instantly missed her warmth. 

Betty sighed. "You're probably right." 

Jughead walked Betty down to the front door of the diner. They stood for a while, kissing and holding each other before Betty finally turned to leave. As he locked the door behind her, he felt his heart clench. He missed her already. 

Once back in the apartment, after showering and changing, Jughead lie in the middle of his bed, staring up at the ceiling. How was it, that in one short week, he had developed such strong feelings for Betty? Jughead had never really had a crush on someone before. Yes, he had had a girlfriend before, one who he lost his virginity to. But looking back, he's almost sure it was his hormones leading the way, not his heart. 

After he turned 16 he shot up about 5 inches, his voice dropped nearly 2 octaves, and his previously skinny and lanky body was somehow now lean and somewhat muscular. The girls in his grade seemed to notice, especially now that he was also sporting a leather jacket and riding a motorcycle. One girl in particular, a short blonde named Sabrina who wore dark make up, combat boots, and fishnets under her shorts, had slammed him up against a locker one day after school and shoved her tongue down his throat. Not before long they were official and she was underneath him in his dad's stinky trailer as he fumbled with a condom wrapper. Sabrina had basically taken the lead then, rolling the condom on him and telling him what to do with his hands and mouth. He came quickly, feeling a bit embarrassed, promising Sabrina the next would be better. 

He made good on that promise when she pulled him into the girl's locker room at school, and again when he cornered her at the White Whyrm and they snuck off to the bathroom. Being with Sabrina was fun and exciting and the sex was great, but it was never anything more than that. He was never able to tell her he loved her, which was ultimately the reason they broke up. A week later he saw her making out with Sweet Pea, a member of his gang, so he figured it hadn't broken her heart too bad. 

No, he had never felt for someone else what he was currently feeling for Betty. Even lying here in the dark, he couldn't stop thinking about her. The way her lips felt against his, how good it felt to hear her cry out his name. Even things having nothing to do with sex; the way the corner of her mouth turns down when she's trying to stifle a smile, the way she rolls her eyes when he tries to convince her Jack Kerouac was a great write, especially the way she would glance at him across the diner, a small smile playing on her lips. He liked everything about her and when he wasn't with her, he was just thinking of ways he could be. 

Sighing, Jughead rolled over closing his eyes, willing himself to fall asleep. Something must have clicked because not long after he was drifting off to sleep, visions of Betty coming undone dancing in his mind. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

Jughead felt like he had been hit by a truck the next morning when Luke was banging on his door at 9am sharp. As he trudged from his bed to open the door he wondered idly why Luke didn't just use his key and come in, it was his apartment after all. 

"Why aren't you dressed?" Luke asked as he pushed past heading toward a closet on the other side of the apartment. "What happened to your face and don't tell me it was a swan!" 

"A swan?" Jughead had started realizing over time he only ever seem to understand half of what Luke said to him. "I guess I didn't hear my alarm." He lied. After Betty left he completely forgot that he and Luke were supposed to be going fishing. 

"That still doesn't explain your face." Luke muttered as he hoisted a heavy tackle up onto the old table in the area dedicated to the kitchen. 

Jughead ran his hand through his hair wishing he had his beanie on. He wasn't about to tell Luke he had only been here for a week and already gotten into a fight. "I ran into a wall." 

"I'm sure. Go get dressed, we leave in five minutes." Luke quickly left the apartment, carrying the box and the handful of fishing poles he had grabbed from the closet, not waiting for Jughead to respond. 

About 30 minutes later they were camped out on a doc further down the lake then where the party had taken place with their fishing line dipped into the water. Jughead had never been fishing before and so far, it was pretty boring. It was hotter than he expected and the bright sun beat down on his black denim clad legs, making him sweat even more. At one point he removed his t-shirt so he was now only in his jeans and an undershirt. Luke seemed hardly affected, still wearing a long-sleeved flannel with the sleeves rolled up and his usually backward baseball cap flipped around to block the sun from his eyes. 

They had been fishing in a somewhat awkward but mutual silence since they got there. From the start he could tell Luke was a simple guy of few words. Not that Jughead minded, he honestly didn't know what they would even talk about or have in common. However, Jughead's stomach decided it was time to break the silence, growling loudly. 

Luke looked over at him. "I packed some sandwiches in the cooler. We can take a break, clearly nothings biting yet." 

They both reeled their lines in and set them off to the side, heading back toward to truck. Luke pulled down the gate at the bed of the truck, and opened the cooler, handing Jughead two sandwiches and a coke. 

"So, tell me about this gang you were in?" Luke's question was so abrupt and out of left field Jughead nearly chocked on his first bite. 

"What do you want to know?" He quickly schooled his expression quickly. He had known this conversation would eventually come. 

"Well how did you get into it?" 

"It started out as a means to an end." Jughead had already told this story once, to Betty, the first night they met. He thinks back to how comfortable he felt spilling it to her and completely opposite he felt now. Luke gave him a puzzled look, not understanding what Jughead could mean by that, so he decided to explain. "I'm not sure how much my dad told you or more like what parts of the situation he decided not to tell you, but when he got locked up two years ago, I was alone." 

"Yea he called me when your mom took off a few years prior to that. I'm sorry about that. That's a real shitty thing for a parent to do." Luke took a swig of his coke before turning to pick up his sandwich. 

"I don't blame her." It was the truth. As angry as Jughead had been, and still is, he couldn't blame his mom for leaving. Hell, here he was doing the same thing. Leaving Riverdale, and his dad, and the Serpents in search for a better life or some kind of opportunity to have more than what he could ever have if he stayed. 

"Why's that?" He could tell Luke was once again confused by what he had said. 

"My dad's an alcoholic Luke. It wasn't a big deal when I was younger; just a few beers at the Whyrm after work, every night, but as my sister and I got older and it got worse. He would come home drunk in the middle of the day drunk when he was supposed to be at work. Obviously after one to many times that got him fired. That's when the Serpents entered the picture and my mom had just had enough." As he told the story he fixed his gaze on a loose thread of his jeans. "It was all messy back then and even more so, after she left. The day after he went to prison a couple of the older Serpents knocked on the trailer door with bags of groceries and school supplies. It was more food than we had had in years. With both mom and dad gone they were all I had." Jughead felt his voice crack and quickly took a bite of his sandwich to stifle whatever emotion was trying to make its way up. 

Luke sighed heavily, removing his hat and running his fingers through his hair. "I didn’t know any of that. Your dad just told me you had gotten mixed up with some gang and something about drugs and that he wanted you out." 

Jughead clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes tight, trying to will away the anger bubbling in his gut. It was just like his father to leave out any of the details that incriminated him. "Yea, my dad likes to think he has nothing to do with any of this." 

"Listen kid, I'm not going to stand here and make excuses for your old man, and I'm definitely not trying to defend him, but you've got to know he loves you. He wouldn't have called me or been so adamant about getting you out if he didn't." 

Jughead thinks maybe somewhere deep down he believes that. Somewhere, through all the walls he'd built in response to disappointment from when his dad didn’t show up to various sports events when he was a child, and then later when he was older, when his dad never once showed any interest in his writing or him for that matter. Through all the different layers of childhood trauma brought on by the screaming matches his mom and dad would have at 3am in the morning while he clutched tightly to his baby sister under his bed as he sang her the itsy-bitsy spider so she wouldn't have to listen; the hunger he grew all too familiar with when his parents had been too preoccupied with fighting or ignoring each other to remember to feed their children, and then of course after his mom left when there was just never any money for food. Maybe beneath the thick layer of abandonment he still felt the sting of today when his mom chose to take his sister and not him when she decided to leave, and how he almost hates his father more for that. Yes, maybe he truly believes that his father does love him and did this for his own good but it's buried so far down under so much emotional baggage it was take a crane and a lifetime of therapy to dig it out and he just doesn't care enough. 

"Yea, maybe." Is all the reply he can muster? 

"I'm really sorry I was never around and never got to know you and your sister. Your dad and I..." He paused, looking out somewhere Jughead couldn't make out. "We were never close. His mom chose to raise him far away and my own dad probably couldn't have done more to make sure we knew each other but, that's the past. I could've changed that, but here we are. I'm glad you're here though kid." Luke clapped him on the back and Jughead was surprised by the warmth he felt by what Luke said. 

"I'm pretty happy to be here." 

They spent the next few hours fishing and trading different stories about life, sports and all different thing, just genuinely getting to know each other. Jughead told him about his love for writing and Luke told him all about opening the diner and why he chose that instead of a hardwood store. Jughead was most fond of how Luke and Lorelai came to be, and all the details behind that. Their love seemed almost too good to be true. 

By the time they had packed up the truck and started heading back Jughead was almost sad it was over. They hadn't caught anything and Jughead had never sat in place that long before, but it was a really good time nonetheless. 

When they pulled up outside of Luke's house Jughead spotted Betty sitting on the small porch swing reading a book. With the sun just beginning to set, the light shining on her was so golden she almost didn't look real. He stood there for a moment watching her, but suddenly felt like a creep when she looked up and caught him, a knowing smile playing on her lips. 

"Hey you." Betty rose from the swing putting placing her book down where she had been sitting. She crossed the porch to where he was standing and gave him a warm hug. 

"What you reading?" She smelled like vanilla and lavender and he wanted to bottle that sent and keep in his pocket forever. 

"Sula. It's like my fourth time reading it but I'm having some trouble staying focused this time around." Her arms were slung around his neck while he rested his hands on her waste. The position felt so natural and easy it wasn't until they heard Luke clear his throat as he approached the porch that he thought it might be inappropriate. 

"Hey kid you staying for dinner?" Jughead wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement. 

"Yea he's staying." Just then Lorelai seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Need any help, that stuff looks heavy?" 

"You offering?" Luke asked her with a knowing look. 

"Who me? No way. Just making conversation." She smiled at Luke and his whole expression seemed to soften at her. Jughead felt a pang in his gut at how simple and easy and normal their relationship seemed to be. "Why don't you too go get washed up and pull out some takeout menu's. I'm thinking Chinese tonight. You like Chinese right Jughead?" 

"It's unamerican not to." He deadpanned. Lorelai and Betty both laughed at his response before Betty took his hand leading him inside. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

Dinner conversation seemed to flow surprisingly easy. Lorelai was just as funny and fast-talking as he remembered her from the first day, only now that her and Luke seemed to be over whatever fight they had going on then, they were both much more relaxed. Jughead enjoyed hearing about all the different anecdotes from Betty's childhood and he loved watching her cheeks color with the familiar pink even more. 

He had never experienced what a healthy normal family was like and though he was thoroughly enjoying himself, some part of his heart ached for what he had never got to experience. 

When dinner was done Jughead tried to help clean up but was quickly swatted away by Lorelai. 

"No no, you're guest." She inisted. "So, what are you two crazy kids up to tonight?" 

"Oh ya know, robbing the liquor store, poppin some molly, and then just general ruckus causing." Betty spoke before Jughead could and he couldn't help the laugh that escaped his throat. 

"Just like I taught ya." Lorelai teased over her shoulder as she deposited the empty Chinese containers in the garbage. "You guys should see a movie. American Werewolf is playing tonight." 

"Betty, I didn’t really peg you for an American Werewolf kind of girl." He teased as he short her a smirk. 

"Oh Juggie, I'm all about the beast within." She smiled and winked at him and he felt his breath catch. "What time is it playing?" She questioned Lorelai. 

"The Gazette said 8 so if you guys are going to go you'd better leave soon." She replied as her and Luke made their way to the living room. 

"Give me a second to change and we can go..." Betty paused. "Wait, you do want to go right? I realize I didn't actually asked and just kind of-" 

"Yes, I want to go to the movies with you Betts." He cut her off cupping her face with his hands and looking her right in the eye. 

"Oh, okay. Good. Just give me a minute." Before he could lean in and kiss her she was in her room behind the closed door. Jughead made his way into the living room to wait for her. 

"Here Jughead." Luke called him over to the couch, holding out a small wade of cash. 

"What's this for?" He was truly hoping Luke wasn't giving him money for the movie. 

"Your paycheck for last week. I realized I forgot to give it to you on Friday." 

"Oh, thank you." Jughead quickly took the money, stuffing it in his pocket awkwardly without counting it. 

He was thankful when Betty came bouncing into the living room wearing what could only be described as short shorts, and a light pink Stars Hollow High hoodie. It took all of his willpower to peel his eyes away from her legs that seemed to go on and on. 

"Ready?" She asked, tilting her head to the side as she fixed her pony tail that was already perfect. 

"Always." He replied simply. 

As they began their short walk to the small move theater Jughead instinctively linked his hand in hers, hesitating after he realized what he did, and then relaxing once she flashed him a small smile. The electricity that seemed to generate between their hands was almost too distracting and he kept thinking back to the night before, when she was wrapped around his body on the dingy couch. 

"Did you and Luke have a good time fishing?" Betty's voice interrupted the somewhat dirty thoughts that were beginning to take form in his mind. He had to physically shake his head to rid them away and then quickly catch himself when Betty gave him a somewhat puzzled look. 

"Yea actually it was, dare I say, fun." Betty chuckled lightly at his confession. "It was nice getting to know him a bit. My dad never really mentioned him much growing up." 

"Up until the day before you arrived I didn't even know Luke had a brother. Why is that?" 

"I'm not entirely sure to be honest. Luke and my dad both have different stories but from what I could make out, their dad wanted to stay here in Stars Hollow and continue to run the store but my dad's mom didn't. She wanted to move to a big city. Not sure how she landed in Riverdale." Jughead didn't have many memories of his grandmother, she passed away when he was very young, but his dad always had nothing but good things to say about her. "It seems not even a year after that their dad was with Luke's mom and she was pregnant with Luke. My dad says that's why he never bothered to try and have a relationship with him, and I guess that's probably why him and Luke weren't really close. They have a sister, too right?" 

"Yea Jess's mom, her name is Liz. She's, unique." Betty laughed as she explained. "Have you ever met Jess?" 

"Nope. Luke is the first person I've met from my grandfather's side of the family." He guessed he would also probably be the only person he would ever meet. 

"Oh wow, so you haven't even met April yet." 

"Who is April?" Jughead thought the name sounded familiar but couldn't place it. 

"Luke's daughter." Betty said with her eyebrows raised high. 

"Luke has a daughter? Wait, with Lorelai?" His interest was officially piqued. 

"No, him and Lorelai never got around to having kid's. She has Rory who lives in New York, she had her when she was 17, and Luke has April who lives in California. He didn't know he had a daughter until she was like 12 though. It's actually a pretty crazy story. He hid it from Lorelai for the longest time, when they were supposed to get married, and it ultimately broke them up. She went on to marry Rory's father, but that didn't last and eventually her and Luke just found their way back to each other but didn't get married for another 10 years. Oh, and then I popped up a year later." 

Jughead's head was spinning by the time Betty finished. "Wow. That was... A lot. How do you know all of this?" 

"Well some of it Lorelai told me, some I've learned from the town gossips, and the rest I read in the book Rory wrote about her mom." She explained. "I'll have to loan it to you sometime." 

"I'd like that." 

Just as they were reaching the movie theater Jughead heard a familiar voice calling Betty's name from behind them. When they turned around they were met with the raven-haired girl, Veronica, and the red-head Betty went on a date with, Archie. They were also walking hand in and hand and he watched as both Archie and Veronica's eyes travelled down to where Betty and his hands were combined. He half expected Betty to let go of his and pull away, but she didn't, not even to give Veronica a half hug. 

"Hey V, hey Archie. You guys remember Jughead right?" Betty smiled up at him. 

"How could we forget Stars Hollow's own Ryan Atwood." Veronica said smiling. 

"Good call back to my O.C. Reference last night. Hey guys." Jughead was unsure of how Archie and Veronica might feel about him. In truth, Kwan had started the fight, but he knew Archie was in a band with him so he'd understand if they held some sort of ill will toward him. "Sorry about that btw." 

"Dude, no need to apologize. I've been wanting to knock Kwan out for weeks. I'm just glad someone finally shut him up." Archie laughed. 

Archie was what Jughead could only describe as an all-American jock while Veronica, dressed in a black skirt, with black shoes, and a black shirt, was physically almost his complete opposite. He wondered if that's what he and Betty looked like. She was dressed in short (very short) light blue denim shorts and a pale pink hoodie, while he was still wearing his black jeans, a dark grey t-shirt, and a red flannel with the sleeves rolled up, his signature beanie still on top of his head. The two couples were like mirror images of each other and for some reason Jughead found that interesting. 

"So, what are you guys doing here?" Betty asked quickly, completely ignoring Archie's comment about Kwan. 

"American Werewolf of course. It's not often they show something other than Casablanca." Veronica replied rolling her eyes. "We should all sit together! That is, if you don't mind?" 

Betty looked at Jughead expectantly. He could tell she really wanted him to say yes. "I don't mind. The more the merrier." He internally chastised himself for the use of the cliché saying. 

"Perfect. You boys go find get tickets and find us seats and Betty and I will procure all the best snacks!" Before he could object the girls were off. 

Him and Archie found their place in the short line. They stood in comfortable silence, moving forward quickly when the line did. It didn't take long before they had the tickets and were making their way into the theater. 

"Wait, this is the movie theater?" Jughead stopped in his tracks at the back of what looked like a small book store filled with different couches and chairs, all facing a rather small projection screen. 

Next to him Archie laughed. "Yea man. Funny enough this is the only theater within a 30-mile radius." 

"Wow, this town is seriously small." Jughead mused. Archie laughed again and they found a larger sofa toward the front of the room. 

A beat later Betty and Veronica were sitting down just as the movie started, with tons of snacks and drinks and popcorn in hand. 

"You two plan on feeding everyone with all these snacks?" Jughead teased. 

"Don't try to reason with her Jughead, resistance is futile. Betty has a sweet tooth the size of Texas, an iron gut, and a metabolism to die for." Veronica said, giving Betty a slight nudge with her elbow. He watched Betty cheeks flush and gave her a reassuring smile. 

The movie was surprisingly enjoyable, giving the small screen it was being viewed on and the lumpy couch he was sitting on. He did however find it hard to concentrate considering Betty had placed her hand on his thigh and not moved it once. It was as if his whole body was being warmed by that one spot where she touched him. 

When the movie was done the four of them made their way outside to say their goodbyes. Veronica made Betty promise to call her tomorrow and Jughead already knew she would be bombard with questions about him and why they were there, holding hands. A small part of him felt bad for her. 

After Archie and Veronica made there leave, he and Betty began the walk back to her house. He knew logically his place was closer and it didn't make sense to walk her all the way home just to have to walk back, but every minute he got to spend with her was a minute that was worth it. 

"I had a lot of fun tonight. I always forget how good it is to hang out with Veronica." Betty smiled as she looked down at a rock she had just kicked. Their pace was slow and leisurely. 

Jughead let go of her hand, instead throwing his arm over her shoulder. She placed hers behind his back as they walked. "Yea she seems really cool. Archie too actually." 

"Veronica is honestly one of my only female friends. She moved to Woodbridge about 3 years ago and just fell into our mutual friend group somehow and we just hit it off right away. I'm really happy for her and Archie, they seem like a cute couple." There was a solid sincerity in Betty's voice and for some reason Jughead felt himself relax knowing that Betty harbored no hidden residual feelings for Archie. He knew Betty had told him as much last night, but he couldn't stop himself from worrying. 

"That they do." He replied simply. 

They arrived back at Betty's much quicker then he would have liked. She led him up on the porch to the porch swing, clearly feeling the same as him. 

Betty looked up at him with her wide green eyes and before Jughead could think he was crashing his lips into hers. In that moment he realized they hadn't kissed all day and he was like a man starved. His hand found its way to her jaw, angling her head to deepen the kiss. Her hands were entwined in his hair at the nape of his neck. 

She flicked her tongue out, running it along his bottom lip before biting down on it lightly. Jughead felt his whole-body tingle at the sensation. 

"You should... " Betty began in between kisses. "Come inside." 

Jughead's movements halted. While the idea of making out with Betty on her bed was almost too good to be true, he knew it may lead to more and he couldn't help but think back to the night before when she had told him she was a virgin. He hadn't made any assumptions prior to that, and in the heat of the moment when she was sitting in his lap letting his hands travel to hidden places, it didn't even cross his mind. Now however, knowing it was likely Betty had never done anything other than kissing and some mild groping, he couldn't help but think he should slow everything down. He didn't want to push her or make her think she needed to do anything with him just because he wasn't a virgin. Sure, sex was awesome, but whatever they had between them was more than that. 

On top of that, the idea of getting caught in a compromising position in Betty's room by Luke or Lorelai sounded was like having a bucket of cold water dumped on him. 

"Betty, I don't think that's such a good idea." He didn't want to hurt her or make her think he didn't want her, but he had to slow everything down before she did something she would later regret. 

"It okay. Luke and Lorelai have already gone to bed, and you can sneak out the back-" 

"No Betty." His words were a bit harsher then he meant them but he didn't want to give her a chance to convince him. "Not tonight." He added, hoping it would quell whatever hurt he already caused. 

"Oh okay. That's fine. I should get some sleep anyway. I've got, stuff." She didn't continue her sentence as she rose quickly from the wing making her way to the door. Jughead could almost feel the walls going up between them and wanted to kick himself for being the type of guy that thinks with the right head. 

"Betty, it's not-" 

"No really. It's fine Jughead. I'll see you tomorrow?" She was smiling but it wasn't reaching her eyes. 

"Definitely." He answered before pulling her in for a kiss. It was chaste and too quick. 

"Good night Jughead." She didn't wait for him to reply before opening the door and going inside. Jughead waited for the click that indicated it was fully closed before making his was off the porch and heading home. 

The walk back to Luke's felt agonizingly slow. He had been going over the last 20 minutes in his head over and over, trying to figure out if he had made the right decision. Ultimately, he still felt he had, he just wished he could have explained that decision to Betty a little better. He thought about maybe calling or texting her to do just that, when he realized he didn't even have her number. How, in the 21st century, had he somehow formed a relationship with someone without ever texting them? He lingered on that thought for a moment before laughing it off. 

For the first time since he moved here he found himself missing his best friend Toni. If he was back in Riverdale he could just walk over to her trailer or go find her at the White Whyrm and they could go grab milkshakes from Pop's while he spilled his heart. Sure, he could call her now, she'd definitely still be awake, but it wouldn't be the same. He wouldn't be able to see her roll her eyes at him or feel her whack him over the head when he says something stupid, which is way too often. 

As he approached the diner he noticed someone sitting on the small step out front. From afar he thought he recognized them but it wasn't until he got closer that he realized who is was. 

"Toni?" 

"Hey Jones. How's life?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So these notes are at the end because I didn't want to spoil to much. 
> 
> I love this chapter. It's not as Bughead heavy, even though ultimately this is a Bughead fit, but I'm really enjoying diving into the background of each character and allowing for dialogue between characters outside of Betty and Jughead. Luke is mostly a background character, but his presence, in both Betty and Jughead lives, plays a huge role. 
> 
> Veronica and Archie are also, for the most part, background characters, though Veronica will have a bigger role in upcoming chapters. 
> 
> I really hope you guys are enjoying this fic. I love diving into this world and writing. Follow me on tumblr at serpentbettyj0nes!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the longer time between updating, I kinda of got side tracked with a one shot. 
> 
> I really enjoy this chapter though and I hope you guys do! 
> 
> Leave some comments and feedback and be sure to follow me on tumblr at serpentbettyj0nes!

Betty lie awake in her bed staring at the glow in the dark stars she and her Aunt had stuck to her ceiling that first month she moved there. She had been awake for the last three hours trying desperately to clear her head enough to get maybe just one more hour of sleep. It had taken her nearly as long to fall asleep in the first place, after realizing no matter how many times she checked her phone there would never be a text or call from Jughead because somehow, they had never exchanged numbers.  

The clock on her side table read 7:00am and she decided to finally give in to the idea that she was up for the day, though she had no intention of physically getting up. Reaching into the drawer of her side table she pulled out her very worn copy of _If I Stay_. It was one her guilty pleasures, along with all the other YA books about teenage love and angst that she kept hidden in her drawer or under her bed. They were easy reads that allowed her a good emotional wallow when she needed it. 

Ignoring the book mark signaling where she last left off, she instead chose to start from the beginning. It wasn't a particularly long book, in fact Betty could probably finish it in a day if she really hunkered down, which was exactly what she planned on doing. It was a Sunday and the way she saw she really had no need to even leave her bed for anything other than sustenance and bathroom use. She had spent nearly a whole night trying to understand why Jughead had rejected her and she came up with nothing other some self-loathing thoughts she didn't want to give in to so today she would instead lose herself in the life of a ghost girl desperately caught between the choice of whether to stay or go, one Betty felt oddly familiar with. 

She wasn't even a full chapter in when her phone started buzzing on the side table next to her. The caller ID read Veronica and for a moment she considered ignoring it, but then remembered she had promised Veronica she would call her today and figured one way or another, she'd end up talking to her. 

"Hey V." Betty trying sounding a bit more chipper then she felt. 

"Oh, you're awake! Good! Get dressed and meet me for breakfast so we can dish all about that broody bad boy of yours and I can finally spill my guts about Archie to someone." Veronica seemed genuinely excited and part of Betty felt guilty. All she wanted to do was stay exactly where she was, in bed, all day. However, she knew it wasn't likely that Veronica was going to give up easily and she just wasn't in the frame of mind to make up a good enough excuse as to why she couldn't meet for breakfast. 

"Sounds good. Give me like 20 minutes." Betty said before a thought crossed her mind. "Oh and, let's do Weston's instead of Luke's." Betty wasn't sure if Jughead was the kind of person who slept in, and if he was they could probably be in and out of Luke's before he ever woke up, but considering she had every intention of avoiding him for the foreseeable future, she figured it was better safe than sorry. Weston's was a small bakery that served breakfast on the weekend's and it was the best alternative. 

"Right because he lives above the diner! Good thinking B! See ya in 20!" Veronica hung up without waiting for a reply. 

Betty sighed heavily before dramatically throwing her blankets off her. This was the exact opposite of what she wanted to do today but as she sat up and felt her stomach growl, she thought at least she'd be getting some food out of it. 

She dressed quickly in a pair of light denim skinny jeans with a plain but fitted white t-shirt and matching white flip flops. Her hair was in its standard pony tail and after washing her face she decided makeup was unnecessary for the day. 

Stepping out into the warm morning Betty silently wished the weather matched her mood a bit more. Instead it was sunny and warm, a stark contrast to the icy mood she was in. As she started her walk toward Weston's her brain kept playing the events from the night before on a loop. She found herself asking herself all the same questions she had been asking herself while she lie in bed in the dark. _Was it to forward of me to invite him in? Was he turned off because I'm a virgin? Maybe he's just not as into me as I thought?_ And so many more. 

In truth, Betty had never really had to deal with rejection, especially not in this form, mostly because she hardly ever put herself in the position to be rejected. Betty went through life playing it pretty safe, and up until Jughead, had never felt the need to change that. Now of course, she was kicking herself for putting herself out there like that. Rejection stung and she could still feel the lump in her throat that formed the moment the words _no_ _Betty_ left Jughead's mouth. 

Another part of her felt almost ridiculous. If the situation were reversed she would want Jughead to respect her and understand it was okay for her to say no, so why wasn't she able to give him the same courtesy? 

Betty had to physically shake her head as she turned the corner to get the thoughts and images from the night before out of her head. As she did, she caught a glimpse of Jughead coming out of Luke's across the street, only he wasn't alone. Not wanting him to see her, she quickly ducked behind the closest tree, positioning herself so she could watch him without being seen.  

Walking with him was a girl no taller then maybe five feet with long curly pink hair. She was dressed very similar to Jughead, wearing black shorts with fishnets under them, combat boots, a black crop top, and a flannel wrapped around her waist. Betty watched as the two of them laughed and Jughead threw his arm over her shoulder. Her stomach dropped. 

Clearly this was someone he knew from Riverdale and by the looks of it, possibly a girlfriend or at least a girl he's close with in that sense. Betty couldn't help the tears that started to fill her eyes. This must have been the reason for the rejection. Of course, that's what his girlfriend would look like. She watched as they continued to walk until they turned the corner and were out of sight. 

For a moment Betty considered just turning around and walking back home but the truth was she really wanted to talk to someone. 

By the time she got to Weston's Veronica was already seated, with two coffees' in front of her. "About time. For a minute there I thought I was being stood up." Veronica said, as she crossed her legs, flinging her hair over her shoulder. 

"Sorry V, I just..." Betty didn't know how to explain why she was late. 

"Whoa Betty, what's wrong? What happened?" Veronica's tone quickly changed from annoyed to concerned as she took in the flushed look on Betty's face. 

"I'm not sure exactly. I just saw Jughead leaving Luke's with... a girl and they seemed... _close_." 

"Wait what? What girl? Who was it?" Veronica asked with a defensive tone. 

"I think she might from Riverdale, where he's from because I've never seen her before." Betty paused staring wide eyed at nothing in particular as the image of the girl with Jughead's arm wrapped loosely around her shoulders came into her mind's eye. 

"Okay well what did she look like? What do you mean they looked close?" 

"I didn't get a good look at her face but she was sort of dressed like him, only like sexier if that makes sense." Betty thinks back to the sliver of tan skin under the girls crop top and her fish nets and mentally compares her rather plain look of jeans and a white t-shirt. If she was indeed Jughead's girlfriend it made sense. They looked like a couple should look. 

"Kurt Cobain meets Joan Jet?" Veronica questioned. 

"Yes, precisely actually." Betty replied a bit stunned and how accurately Veronica had managed to explain the girls style without ever seeing her. "Anyway, they were coming out of Luke's laughing and then he threw his arm around her and I don't know, I just got this uneasy feeling." Betty stared down at her hands as she nervously rang her fingers together feeling her cheeks burn hot again. 

"That my friend is called jealousy." Veronica reached across the table, placing her own hand on top of Betty's in a comforting gesture for a moment before straightening up. "Now, when you say  he threw his arm around her, do you mean like around her waist or over her shoulder? Here, stand up and show me on me." Veronica stood, gesturing for Betty to do the same. 

Betty sighed, feeling a little foolish. "He just kind of, threw it around her shoulders like this." She flung her arm around Veronica's shoulders, letting her wrist rest on the shoulder opposite her for a moment before removing and sitting down. 

"He didn't pull her closer or anything?" 

"I mean, no. Not that I saw. But they turned the corner not long after and I couldn't see them anymore. What difference does that make though?" Now not only was Betty feeling foolish, she was approaching irritated. 

"Betty, darling, I'm going to go out on an unsteady limb here and say that she was probably just a friend. Had he put his arm around her waist or been holding her hand, I'd be inclined to think differently but honestly the way you're describing it, seems friendlier. You can't tell me you and Stevie or you and Kwan haven't walked down the street in that same position before." Veronica took a dainty sip from her coffee. 

Betty was about to protest when the waitress appeared to take their orders. After they both ordered pancakes, Betty's with a side of home fries, they sat in silence for a moment. Betty mulled over the possibility that perhaps she was overthinking this. In hindsight, Veronica was right, she herself had walked down that same street with Kwan or Stevie's arm thrown over her shoulder, laughing about something stupid, many times before. 

"What else is on your mind love?" Veronica fixed her with a knowing gaze, one eyebrow raised in suspicion. 

"Well, last night, after the movie Jughead walked me home. We made out a little on the porch and I invited him inside and he kind of turned me down." Betty explains as she thinks back to the night before. 

"Maybe he's just trying to take things slow?" 

"I could totally understand that if we hadn't already-" Betty was cut off by the waitress approaching with their food. After the plates were set down and she thanked the girl she was about to continue when Veronica cut her off. 

"You guys already had sex?" Veronica seems shocked. 

"No V! But we did stuff, after the lake party Friday night. I went back to his apartment with him and we made out and..." Betty looked around making sure no one was listening to their conversation before leaning forward, pausing to wait until Veronica did the same, and whispering, " _he fingered me._ " She felt her cheeks burn like fire and a rush of electric shoot through her at just the thought of what Jughead's hands had done to her that night. 

Veronica's face broke out in a wide grin. "Oh my god Betty you are too adorable. I'm guessing you're virgin still?" 

"Yes I am. I actually accidentally told him that after because I was feeling all sorts of shy. Oh my god I'm such a loser." Betty dipper her head into her hands feeling foolish all over again. 

"You are not a loser Betty Cooper. You are just way to pure and good for this world." Veronica took a bite of her pancakes, seeming almost lost in thought before she continued. "How did he take that? Do you know if he's a virgin?" 

"He took it fine and no, he's not, I asked. He actually seemed worried that he went too far but I assured him I liked what we did." 

"Well then, my love, I'm betting that Mr. Tall Broody and Handsome put the brakes on last night because he didn't want to you do something you weren't ready to do. It wasn't a rejection, though I'm sure that's how it felt. If anything, he's earned quite a few brownie points in my book." 

"Okay but it's not like I was inviting him in to have sex with me!" Betty defended. 

"Are you sure?" Veronica teased and Betty shot her a glare. "I'm kidding and I know that, and I'm sure he does to. But Betty in the heat of the moment sometimes things happen and you do things you might later regret. It sounds to me like he just didn't want that to happen to you." The look on Veronica's face made Betty feel like maybe she was speaking from a place of experience and the thought made Betty sad. 

"I guess you could be right. Anyway, what's going on with you and Archie?" Betty no longer wanted to talk about Jughead, or everything that had happened between last night and now. 

"I see your deflection, but because I've been dying to gush about Archie all week I'll allow it." She smiled. 

For the next two hours the girls talked about Archie, and school, and everything in between. Betty was a little sad to learn that at the end of the summer Veronica would be going back down to New York to start her semester at Columbia. She had only known Veronica for three years and they weren't as close as her and the twins were, but she couldn't help feel like she was losing something special. 

By the time they had finished eating, and talking, and saying their goodbye's, Veronica making Betty promise to call her, it was a little after noon and Betty wanted nothing more than to go back home and pick up where she left off before Veronica had called her. The weather had somehow taken a drastic change and the bright hot sunshine she had stepped out into this morning was now replaced with a grey sky that threatened to empty at any moment. Betty sighed, blaming herself for the sudden change and wondering if she could wish for something else and have the universe magically grant it. 

As she began the short walk back to her house she thought about everything her and Veronica had talked about. She had always been an overthinker, but never about boys or anything so petty. Her and Jughead weren't even technically together so she didn't know why she was getting so emotional about everything. Her mind flashes to him holding her and telling her that he really liked her and she knows why she's feeling this way. 

Deciding she was no longer going to over think about this anymore she pulled her headphones out and let Tracy Chapman sing to her about leaving and finding a life of her own. 

.

.

.

.

Betty made it home just in time. Just as she stepped up onto her porch the sky opened up and rain fell in thick buckets all around her. She stood for a moment just watching it drench the world around her before turning to head inside. 

After dropping her purse at the door, she called out to see if anyone was home. "Anyone home?" 

"Up here." Lorelai called out from upstairs. Betty made her way toward her voice. 

"Oh my god what happened?" Betty stopped at the door way to her Aunt's room, staring at what looked like a poorly organized lost and found. There were boxes and bins everywhere, some half empty, some full but clearly dug through. Clothes from what looked to be all different decades strewn about the bed and the floor. Shoes, piles and piles of shoes, and even more VHS tapes and DVD's and books just about everywhere Betty could see. 

"I'm doing some cleaning." Lorelai explained as she pulled another bin out of her closet. 

"No offence, but this is the opposite of clean." Betty hesitantly stepped over a pile of books as she tip toed her way to a small open spot on the bed. 

"Well I'm not done. It's like heart surgery." She said waving a hand in the air. 

Betty simply gave her a bemused look. 

"You know, the whole saying about walking into the middle of a heart surgery and what not." 

"Um okay. Still doesn't explain what all this is." She made a sweeping gesture with her hand toward the room. 

Lorelai looked out into the room and sighed. "Relics of my past life." She moved the bin she had previously been digging through and placed it on the floor, along with a few other items, making a spot for herself on the bed. "I made Luke a promise months ago I would go through all the stuff in our closet and get rid of some things but I just kept putting it off. Now you see why." 

"Is that like the wardrobe to Narnia in there? I can't believe you had all of this stuff in there." She replied with wide eyes still taking in the massive amount of stuff all over the room. 

"Well I'm nothing if not efficient. Where there's a will there's a way." 

Betty let out a small laugh. 

"What's on your mind kid?" Lorelai asked suddenly breaking Betty away from the trance she was slowly slipping into. 

She shook her head to full bring herself back before replying. "Why do you think somethings on my mind?" 

"You're got the far away bug-eyed look you get when you aren't fully present." She made a gesture with her hands by her head to mimic bug eyes. 

"I do not." Betty defended before giving in. "Okay you're right." She paused, biting her lip. She could tell her Aunt all about Jughead but after her morning with Veronica she didn’t' feel any need. Instead she thought about maybe asking her about something entirely different, sort of. "Can... can I ask you about sex?" She felt her face start to heat and averted her eyes from her Aunt's.

Lorelai had been openly talking to Betty about sex and all things related since she got her period the summer after moving here. It was never a taboo topic but in truth, Betty hardly ever had any questions or said much at all about it. Up until now she had never really thought much about; when it would happen, with who, things like that. She didn't know if she was completely ready to go there with Jughead, or if it was still even an option after seeing him with that girl today but thinking back to what they did on the couch made Betty's stomach clench and warm feeling form between her legs that she wanted to explore. 

"Jeeze, way to get right to the point. You know you can always openly ask me anything about sex Betty." Lorelai placed a comforting hand on Betty's leg and she looked up to meet her gaze, somehow feeling way less embarrassed then she had just a minute ago. 

"Okay well, in case you are wondering, yes I'm still a virgin." 

"That's fine. It would have been fine if you weren't as well." The sincerity in her Aunt's voice warmed her. 

"How will I know if it's the right time?" She asked softly. 

"Oh honey, that is one question I can't answer for you. It's different for everyone." 

"How did you know it was the right time? The right... person?" 

"I don't know that I did, it just kind of happened. I lost my virginity to Rory's father and I can't say that I regret it." 

"Well I guess that's good." Betty thought back to the story Rory told her about losing her own virginity. "I know Rory lost it to Dean. Do you think it was the right time for her?" 

"I don't think it matters so much what I think. Rory was more than confident in her choice, even with all the messy circumstances. Ya know, sometimes it's not about the right time or the right person babe. I don’t want you to think your virginity is some precious gift you'll be giving away. Not to get all SJW but it really is just this social construct. I'm not saying it's not important and shouldn't be done with someone you trust, and while using protection of course, but it doesn't have to be this grand moment. It's never like the movies." 

Betty felt a sense of ease at her Aunt's words. Before meeting Jughead she had never thought too much about when she would lose it. She figured it would happen eventually, but she never had any kind of fantasy about it. Moments after she had felt herself come undone around Jughead's fingers she was suddenly struck with a feeling she couldn't understand. The act alone was a first for her, and she hadn't hesitated one bit. It just felt right. She could only hope when the time came to lose her virginity, she would feel that same feeling. 

"This is about Jughead isn't it?" Lorelai's voice broke through her thoughts and she felt her eyes widen in slight horror. "Don't worry, I'm not here to judge. I just kind of figured, since he's really the first guy I've ever seen you get all twisted up about, and I mean, the kid was in gang so I'm sure he has experience in that area." 

Betty's face like it was on fire and she suddenly wanted nothing more the dunk her whole head in a bucket of ice. It seemed ever since Jughead came to town she was constantly bathed in a hot flush. 

"Listen, I can't tell you it's the right time, or the right person. If there is anything I've learned from Rory it's that, it's not my choice to make or judge. I've seen the way you two look at each other and I think it's great. You're 18, you're an adult, a woman. This is your decision to make. What I will say is this: Don't feel pressured to do something just because he has more experience than you do or because everyone around you is doing it. I don't think that's the case here because you are way to level headed and logical for that, but I just want to make sure you know that. As far as the logistical side of things, it may hurt. Foreplay beforehand is extremely important. If you suspect it might happen, bring condoms with you. I know you've been on birth control for years but STD's are a thing and better safe than sorry is a good saying." She paused as if thinking of what else she should say. "Oh, and pee after, to avoid a UTI." 

Betty buried her hands in her face to find some kind of relief from the heat now taking over her chest. "Thank you, Lorelai." She said, finally meeting her eyes. 

"No problem kid. Now, what do you say you help me go through some of this junk and then we head over to Luke's for dinner with him and Pony Boy." 

"Sure." Betty said with a shaky breath. 

 

For the next three hours her and Lorelai worked to make some kind of dent in the mounds of Lorelai's belonging taking over every inch of her room. Betty quickly took the reins, making different piles for keeping, tossing, donating, and then a pile of things she herself wanted. The hardest part was convincing her Aunt she didn't need the bell bottom's she hadn't worn since the early 80's, or the fuzzy pink fedora that smelled like moth balls, along with tons of other useless items. By the end though the toss and donate piles were bigger then the keep and that was a win. Not to mention the cool leather jacket, short jean mini skirt, and thigh high boots she had gained from her hard work. She knew her Aunt had an eclectic style but she wished she could have been around during her youth just to witness exactly when she would have worn these articles of clothing. 

.

.

.

.

At exactly 5:32pm Betty and Lorelai walked into the Luke's. Jughead was sitting at the counter backwards, talking to the girl she had seen him with earlier, and he looked so good she nearly forgot how to breath. His hair was damp and wild, the beanie he usually wore now missing, and the t-shirt seemed the cling to him in all the right places. 

The chiming of the door above her caught Jughead's attention and when he turned and caught her eyes, a wide grin took over his face. "Betty! Come here I want you to meet someone." He jumped up managing to reach her in two quick strides and take her by the hand leading her to the girl with the long pink hair. Betty silently braced herself to hear to the words _this is my girlfriend_ even though she was sure he shouldn't be so enthusiastic to introduce them if she indeed was. 

"This is my best friend, Toni Topaz. Toni, this is Betty Cooper." Betty felt her entire body relax. Veronica had been right, she was just a friend. 

Toni was gorgeous. There was no other way to describe. "Hi Toni. It's nice to meet you." She said maybe a little to joyfully as she reached her hand out. 

"It's really good to meet you too. Jones here has told me so much about you. In fact, he wouldn't shut up about you all day." The teasing smile on Toni's face made Betty's whole body warm. 

"Thank Toni." Jughead said dryly and Betty was almost sure she could spot a soft pink tint to his cheeks. He had been talking to Toni about her all day. 

Suddenly Betty felt extremely foolish. She had assumed so much from so little and now she was left feeling ashamed and ridiculous. She didn’t have much time to dwell on that though as Luke emerged from the kitchen with multiple plates in his hands, trailed by Ceasar with just as many. 

"Alright, alright, sit sit. Let's eat before the food gets cold." He said as they placed the plates around the tables they had brought together.  

They each took a spot around the two tables. It was a Sunday which meant hardly any customers were there. For some reason, Sunday was the least busy day for the diner, probably due to everyone eating at home with their families. 

Jughead made quick introductions for Toni and Lorelai and everyone fell into easy conversation as they ate. 

"So, Toni, when did you get here? Love the hair btw, it's very punk rock girl band. I've been trying to get Betty to dye hers blue for years." Lorelai asked as she took a bite of her burger. 

"Last night actually." Toni responded through a bite of her own. "Oh my god. This burger is so good. It's better than Pop's!" 

"What's Pop's?" Betty asked. 

"It's a small diner in Riverdale. They specialize in burgers, milkshakes, and a retro 50's theme. They are a staple in Riverdale. I agree though Tone." He said nudging Toni in the side. Betty expected to feel the wave of jealousy she felt earlier when she saw them walking together but instead she felt something else. It was like getting a peak into Jughead's world and where he came from and she was rather enjoying it. "But yea, Toni just popped up last night. She was just sitting outside when I got back from walking Betty home." 

Betty felt her stomach twist a bit as she was reminded of last night and his rejection. She tried to remind herself about what Veronica said though and took a large bite of her burger to distract herself. These really were some good burgers. 

"Well when you leave town without telling anyone, even your best friend who you've known since diapers, and then hang up on her when she calls, you get her sitting on your stoop at midnight. I was concerned." Toni's face wore an emotion Betty couldn't quite read or understand. She was concerned, that much was clear, but there was something else there. It mirrored the look on Jughead's face. 

"I know, I know." Was all he responded with. 

After that the table fell into small talk and comfortable conversation. Lorelai told them all about her and Betty cleaning out her room and Luke sighed and grunted through it. Betty had to concentrate on her food to keep herself from staring at Jughead but every now and then she would look over at him and make eye contact and she'd feel that same electric shock rush through her. It was amazing how just him looking at her could cause her to fluster. 

Just as everyone was finishing up Betty felt her phone vibrate in her jacket pocket. It was a text from Veronica. 

**V: Hey V!** **You should come to the lake!** **It's me** **,** **Archie and Stevie. No Kwan.**

She looked down at the text for a moment before replying. 

**B: Sounds good. Mind if Jughead and his friend Toni come alone?**  

Betty already knew Veronica would have a million questions but she figured she could answer them all later. 

**V: Friend Toni?** **So** **,** **no girlfriend? And** **of course** **but** **be prepared to spill B!**

Betty rolled her eyes. "Hey Jug, do you and Toni want to go meet up with Archie, Veronica, and Stevie at the lake. Kwan isn't there." She made sure to add that bit about Kwan. 

Jughead looked over at Toni who simply gave him a small smile with a shrug like _why not_. "Yea sure, sounds like fun!" 

Betty smiled and shot Veronica a text confirming they were all coming. 

After everyone finished eating and everything was all cleaned up the three of them said bye to Luke and Lorelai and made their way to the lake. As they began walking Jughead moved closer to Betty, grabbing her hand and linking their fingers. It was such a small thing but her stomach began doing back flips and she struggled to keep the smile on her face from growing goofy. 

"You guys are adorable." Toni teased, smiling at them. 

"Shut up Toni." Jughead said giving her a small shove as Betty bit back a giggle. 

"What I'm serious! I've never seen this Jughead before." 

"And what Jughead is that?" Betty asked. She wanted to know more about him and it was becoming clearer that Toni was probably a wealth of information. 

"All boyfriend like. Holding hands and shit." She explained. 

"You've never had a girlfriend?" Betty was slightly confused. He had told her that he wasn't a virgin and a part of her just assumed that meant he had had a girlfriend. 

"No, I had a girlfriend." Jughead responded defensively, clearly feeling uncomfortable at the topic of conversation. 

"If you could even call her that." Toni snarked. 

"Okay new conversation topic. Toni, how's Midge?" Betty watched as Toni expression changed. He had obviously hit a nerve and suddenly Betty felt sorry for Toni. 

"I've got a better idea!" Betty spoke up quickly, not even sure yet what that idea was. 

"What's that?" Jughead asked softly looking down at her. 

She stared into his eyes momentarily feeling her brain turn to mush before she realized they were at the opening of the woods that led to the lake. "Why don't we introduce Toni to everyone?" 

"Lead the way." 

As they made their way through the short section of woods, past Stevie's truck Betty could smell the familiar smell of burning wood. Veronica, Archie, and Stevie were all sitting around the fire laughing about something as they approached. 

"Jughead! My man!" Stevie called out, jumping up and walking right past Betty to Jughead. 

"Well I guess I'm just chopped liver now huh?" She teased. 

"Don't get your panties in a twist Cooper, you're still my number one. And who is this beautiful creature we have here?" He asked gesturing toward Toni. 

"The name is Toni Topaz. Jughead's best friend." Toni replied coolly. 

"Stevie Van Gerbig, Betty's best friend." He replied extending a hand for her to shake. "What are they putting in the water over there in Riverdale. I've I wasn't gay I'd be all over you." Betty let out a horrified choke as she looked up at Jughead who shared a similar look. 

"Well if I wasn't gay I'd say the same." Toni replied and they both broke out in laughter. 

"Oh my god please ignore him. I'm Veronica Lodge and this is Archie Andrews." Veronica said as Toni shook each of their hands. 

"It's nice to meet you all." Toni said. 

"Hey Stevie, I'm sorry about what happened with Kwan the other night." Jughead said as clapped a hand on Stevie's shoulder. 

"Dude, don't even worry about it. My brother has been a dick for far too long and I'm glad someone finally knocked some sense into him." Stevie responded without letting Jughead apologize further. 

As they all made their way back around the fire, Jughead gently pulled at Betty's arm to get her attention. "Betty can I talk to you for a minute?" His expression seemed to have a nervous edge to it. 

"Yea of course." Betty replied, leading them over to the small footbridge they had sat on together the first night they met. The sun was just beginning to set and it felt like everything around them was bathed in a soft golden glow. 

They sat on the edge with their legs crossed, both deciding not to dip their feet in as it was a much cooler night due to the rain earlier in the day. They sat in silence for a moment, both facing the water, before Jughead put his hands on her thighs and turned her so that she was facing him. 

"I wanted to apologize for last night and explain myself a bit." His hands were resting on her knees and Betty found it hard to concentrate on his words as she could feel the heat from his palms through her jeans. 

"Jug it's okay you don't have to-" She tried explaining that he didn't need to apologize but he cut her off. 

"No Betty, I really want to explain." He paused, as if waiting for her to protest again but she didn't. Instead she smiled letting him continue as she idly played with the shoe lace of his converse. "I really like you Betty, like more than I've ever liked someone before. Toni was kind of right earlier. I did have a girlfriend for a short time back in Riverdale but honestly girlfriend was just a title. My relationship with her was mostly... well it was mostly sex." It took every ounce of Betty's inner will power to keep her face as neutral as possible while the voice in her head screamed _I don't want to hear about your sex life with your ex-girlfriend._ "I don't know if I ever really liked her or if we just dated because it was easy. Sex is... it's great and all but it's not everything and it's not that important. I don't want you to think that we have to do that, or anything else for that matter, just because I have in the past. That's why I said no last night." He paused, moving his hand to the side of her face as he rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip. Betty felt her entire body tremble. "I really enjoy kissing you and touching you and just being with you in general but I knew that if we went inside it might go further then you were ready for and I didn't want to be responsible for that." 

Betty stared into his impossibly blue eyes for a long moment. Veronica had been right about everything and Betty suddenly wanted nothing more than to get back all the hours she wasted worrying about this. "Jughead, you don't need to ever worry about whether I'm doing something with you because I think I have to or because I want to, I promise it's always because I want to. I really enjoy kissing you too... and what we did on Luke's couch, all of which happened before I knew you weren't a virgin and before you knew I was btw. If I ever want you to stop, you can absolutely be sure I will tell you." She paused taking his hand in hers. "I really like you a lot and I'm not saying I'm ready to have sex with you right now but I'm definitely ready to do other stuff, like what we did the other night." She couldn't help the blush that formed on her cheeks. 

Before Betty could say anything else Jughead was leaning forward placing his lips on hers. It was soft and gentle, not at all rushed or needy like the kisses they shared the other night, yet Betty still felt the same rush of adrenaline. Before she got lost in his taste she pulled back, wanting to tell him everything. "I have a bit of confession." She bit her lip. 

"What's your confession?" He asked with a bemused look on his face. 

"So earlier today, well this morning, I was walking to meet Veronica for breakfast when I saw you and who I now know is Toni coming out of Luke's. You had your arm around her and my mind instantly went to the worse possible scenario and I thought she was like your girlfriend or something. It's part of the reason I was sort of avoiding you all day." 

Jughead stared at her for a moment with a blank expression. For a moment Betty thought maybe she had said something wrong but then he started laughing. It was a loud full on belly laugh as he threw his head back. 

"What's so funny over there?" Stevie called from the fire. 

"Toni, Betty thought you were my girlfriend." Jughead called back. Betty felt her face burn bright red and she wacked his arm as she got up, effectively ending the conversation. 

"No wait, come back." He called after her as he got up, still laughing. 

"It's not funny!" Betty pouted, sitting down on a log. 

"No Cooper it's gross! Jughead is quite literally like my brother. As in, we grew up so close we were treated like brother and sister." Toni laughed as she made a disgusted face. 

"Don't make fun my girl, she was truly upset by this. Although you can thank me for talking her off a ledge." Veronica spoke up. 

Betty wanted to dig a hole and still her head in it, instead she buried her head in her hands as Jughead came and sat next to her. He pulled her hands off her face and pulled her into his side. The group fell into easy conversation as Betty felt her embarrassment slowly melt away. Jughead had slid his hand around her waist, up under her jacket and t-shirt, and was making small circles with his thumb on her side. It was so distracting and it was all she could do to pay attention and stay present in the conversation. It seemed like this was the usual when she was with Jughead. Just his presence alone was distraction enough but then when he touched her, it was something else altogether. 

The six of them hung out for another two hours before the fire died out and they all decided it was time to go. Jughead had to be up early to work at Luke's and Archie and Stevie had made plans for an early morning run. After they all said their goodbyes Veronica and Archie headed back across the foot bridge to Woodbridge and Stevie offered to give Betty a ride home, his house being in the same direction as hers. She declined, wanting to walk Jughead and Toni home and just get as much time with him out of the night as she could. 

The walk back to Luke's was fast and when they got there Jughead gave Toni the keys and told her he'd be up in a minute before turning to Betty and pulling her into his arms. Once Toni was inside, he pulled her in for a kiss. It started off slow and languid but quickly grew more lustful and soon Betty found her hands clutching the fabric of his t-shirt while his own hands cupped her face, angling it to deepen the kiss. 

He leaned back against the glass window on the outside of the diner and Betty leaned into him, feeling her whole body brush against his. She could stand her all night making out with him and it would be time well spent in her eyes. He moved his hands from her face to her waist and then travelled them around to her ass, giving it a good squeeze. Betty let out a giggle and he took the opportunity to pull away from the kissing. She couldn't help the frown that formed on her face. 

"Don’t give me that look." He said looking down at her through hooded eyes. "If Toni wasn't here I'd invite you up but I don't know how much fun it would be making out right in front of her. There's no walls in that damn apartment." 

Betty laughed at the annoyance in his tone. He was right, it would be pretty awkward to just make out in front of Toni. "It's okay." 

"What did you mean earlier when you said thinking Toni was my girlfriend was part of the reason you were avoiding me today? What was the other part?" His question seemed to come out of left field. 

"I was sort of feeling rejected. I know now why you didn't want to come in last night, and I totally understand and respect it, but at the moment it just felt like a rejection and I guess my feelings were hurt a little." She couldn't bring herself to look up at him. "I know that sounds completely ridiculous and-" 

"No, no, it's not ridiculous at all Betty. I should have explained myself. I wanted to call you or text but then I realized, we never exchanged number." He explained, laughing at the last part. 

"Yea I realized that too after checking my phone for the one hundredth time." She replied, also laughing. 

He reached into her jacket pocket, plucking her phone out and holding it up for her to unlock. She punched in the code quickly and he turned it and swept his thumb around the screen quickly before returning it to her. He had added his name under the contact _Juggie_ with a crown emoji next to it and sent himself a text. 

"There, now you have my number and I have yours." He smiled as he kissed her again. "I should get inside. Ya know, work in the morning." Betty half smiled and nodded, as she hooked her fingers in his two front pockets. "What about you? Anything special going on tomorrow?" 

"I have an early morning shift at Doose's market but other than that, nothing." She replied.

"Thennnnn you should come by the diner after and keep Toni company. Maybe you could show her around town, get all the dirty gossip about me." He teased. 

"Hmm that sounds like a brilliant idea!" She laughed. 

They grew quiet for a moment, just looking at each other, both unable to say goodbye. Finally, Betty leaned up and placed her lips on his. "Good night Juggie." She stepped back holding onto his hand until they could no longer reach each other. 

"Good night Betts. Text me when you get home." He replied turning to head into the diner. 

"Will do." 

Ten minutes later Betty was back home, tucked warmly into her bed when she sent him a text. 

**B: Home safe. Night** **Juggie** **. Xoxo**

She didn't even have time to set her phone down before he was replying. 

**J: Sweet dreams Betts. Xoxo**

Betty fell asleep with her phone clutched in her hand reading the text over and over again. Indeed, her dreams would be sweet. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a warning and apology, this chapter is unedited. I spent like an hour editing it and then lost all that work and I just don't have the time to do it again. It's nothing glaringly bad, but enough to annoy me. I hope you guys don't mind! 
> 
> Leave a comment below and let me know what you think! My new Tumblr name is heyytherejuliett if you want to follow me!

Jughead stood in the small kitchen staring at the old coffee pot as the brown liquid dripped slowly into the basin. He had had a fitful night of sleep, tossing and turning, unable to find that deep REM he so longingly desired. When the sun had started to rise, casting thin golden rays through the brown dusty curtains across from his bed, he finally decided to concede. 

Sleep had always been somewhat difficult for Jughead. Maybe it stemmed from the nights he would stay up waiting for his father to come home from the bar after his mother had taken off, or maybe even before that, when his baby sister would sneak into his room seeking comfort and shelter from the loud screaming coming from their parent's bedroom. He would hold her and whisper made up stories in her ear until she drifted off to sleep, only to then be unable to find his own slumber, distracted by mumbled voices across the small trailer. Whatever the reason, he was mostly used to it.

When the coffee pot stopped grumbling, he quickly poured himself a large cup, as he heard Toni rise from the small bed she was crashing in. 

"Morning sunshine." He teased, taking another mug from the cabinet and pouring her some coffee. 

"This is literally the worst apartment ever." She grumbled taking the cup from his hand and sitting down at the round yellow table. 

"Better than a trailer." 

"At least trailers have walls. This town is so quiet I could hear you breathing all night." She shot him a look over her cup as she took a long sip. 

"Yea well at least this apartment has air conditioning and a shower with actual water pressure." He and Toni had both grown up in trailers. It was small community on the Southside of Riverdale called Sunnyside. Throughout their life they had both experiences times when either the heat didn't work because the adult couldn't pay the bill or the air conditioning didn't work because the old window unit had taken its final breath. Luke's apartment, though small and brown, was a huge step up in his book. 

"Touche, touché. So, what on your agenda for today?" Toni conceded. 

"I've got work down in the diner in like an hour." Today was the first day he had woken up before his alarm went off indicating it was time to drag himself from bed. 

"Man, they are really putting you to work here huh? Back home we could probably fuck around at the river all day." Jughead didn't miss the subtle dig. 

So far Toni's visit had been mostly casual. He spent the whole day before showing her around town and hanging out at the diner. It was no secret he was trying to keep her as distracted as possible to avoid this impending conversation. 

"They have a lake here." Was all he said looking down at his phone. 

He pulled up the messages from Betty from the night before and quickly shot her a good morning text. 

"Oh okay. So, I guess we really aren't going to talk about the giant elephant in the room named _so why the hell did you just take off without telling_ _anyone_ then?" Toni said leaning forward on the table, tilting her head to the side. 

Jughead sighed as he ran his hands through his wild morning hair and down his face. "I didn’t really have a choice Toni. My dad said it was college, this, or get out. What was I supposed to do?" 

"Oh, I don't know, college maybe? Hell, even the getting out option was a viable one. You could have lived with me or Sweet Pea, or any of the other Serpents for that matter." 

"No actually I couldn't have. My dad made it very clear if I made that particular choice it would be so without the support of the Serpents. Besides, I wanted to..." He stopped himself before he finished saying what he hadn't mean to say in the first place. But it was too late, Toni caught on. 

"Wanted to what Jughead? Get out? Out of Riverdale? Out of the-" 

"Yes Toni, I wanted to get out of the Serpents!" He yelled a little louder then he intended as he stood up and began pacing the small space. 

Toni snorted. "I can't believe you. The Serpents are your family. They were there for you when FP got locked up, when you would have been shipped off to some foster family. How could you just turn your back on them, on us, like that?" He could see the hurt in her eyes as she spoke. He knew the truth was this was less about the Serpents and more about her. 

"I didn’t turn my back on you Toni. I did what I had to do to get out of a life I never even wanted in the first place. Dealing drugs, running guns, that's not... that's not a family, that's a gang! The Serpents are a gang Toni and that life doesn't lead anywhere except jail or death. Look at my dad for Christ's sake! Don't you want more than that?" He could feel his temper rising. Toni of all people should know this isn't what he wanted. 

He quickly thought back to them as kid's, before his mom left, before Toni's dad died, before the Serpents had entered either of their lives. They were just kids with hopes and dreams. Toni wanted to be a photographer and he wanted to be a writer. They would talk about moving to New York City and renting an apartment together and having these amazing jobs. Sure, they were big dreams for little kid's, but still, at least there was hope then. As time went on and both of their home lives became more and more broken, those dreams seemed further and further away. He looked at his friend now, a girl he considered his sister in every sense of the word and wondered how they had gotten to this point. 

"Life isn't always about what you want Jughead. I didn't _want_ my dad to die, I didn't _want_ my best friend to take off without so much as a text but here we are. I get it Jug, I do. I know that life isn't what you pictured for yourself and maybe you are meant to have more, but it's not like that for me." Toni hung her head, staring at her hands while she fiddled with one of the many rings that littered her fingers. 

"It can be though! You can stay here with me! I'm sure Luke would hire you at the diner and if not there's tons of other options. We can start over Tone." His voice was small. As much as he really wanted her to say yes, to agree to leave Riverdale and the Serpents for good and start a life here with him, he knew she wouldn't. 

"You always were a big dreamer Jones." She said with finality. "I'm gonna take a shower really quick." 

Jughead watched as she disappeared behind the bathroom door.  He knew this conversation wasn't going to go the way he wanted but he would have kicked himself if he didn't at least try. Toni deserved a chance at better life just as much as he did, he just wished she could see that. 

An hour later Jughead was standing behind the counter in the diner talking to Toni about the proper ketchup to bottle ratio when Luke came through the front door, pushing it open more forcefully then necessary. 

"You want to explain to me why I got a call from Kwan this morning saying he quit because he doesn't want to work with you?" Luke's finger was pointed directly at Jughead and for a moment he was a foot shorter and four years younger, standing in the door way of his small bedroom in his trailer. 

He stared at Luke, thinking how odd it was that the last time he can remember an adult scolding him for something was before his mom left. He was fourteen and he and Toni had gotten into an argument over something that ended in him shoving her. His mom had chastised him, declaring he was grounded for a week, but then two days later she left, taking his sister and all the clothes in her closet and his dad didn’t move from the couch for a month so the punishment had seemed null and void. 

"Well?" Luke's voice broke through his thoughts and he realized he hadn't answered him. 

"Crap, sorry. Uh yea, about that." He rubbed the back of his neck trying to figure out how to explain without possibly getting Betty or Kwan or even himself in more trouble. "Kwan and I kind of got into a fight at the lake. That's where the cut on my cheek was from." He decided it best to leave out the fact that Kwan was blitheringly drunk at the time. 

"A fight? Over what?" Luke seemed to figure the answer out on his own because he didn't give Jughead time to answer. "Let me guess, Betty. Jeeze this is Rory, Jess, and Dean all over again. Ya know what, I don't care. It's none of my business, you kids are adults, figure it out. Until then, you're on your own until noon when Betty comes in. Don’t screw anything up." With that he turned and left just as fast as he had come. 

For probably about the tenth time since Jughead moved here, he had no idea what Luke was talking about. He had heard Betty mention Rory, who was Lorelai's daughter, and Jess, who was Luke's other nephew, and he guessed is cousin as well, but had no idea who Dean what and what he had meant. He filed it away in his head for later, figuring he could always just ask Betty about it. 

His attention was drawn toward Toni has she sat at the counter lightly chuckling to herself. He gave her a questioning look with a furrowed brow. "What?" 

"You've been here what, a week and half, and already getting into fights with the dudes in town over some chick. You really are gone for her, aren't you?" 

He rolled his eyes, "She's not some chick and it wasn't like that." 

Toni snorted and took a long sip of her coffee, clearly no believing a word he had said. 

The morning dragged on and when noon rolled around, bringing with it his first really rush of customers, Jughead was silently thankful. He had been bored to tears for the last hour. Toni had decided to take a walk, bored as well but having no obligation to stick around, and if Jughead had to listen to Ceasar talk about the difference between a ceasar salad and Ceasar's Salad for another minute he was going to rip his hair out. 

Though he was thankful for the slew of customers that had blown in, he was also starting to feel like he was drowning. There was only one of him and it seemed like every time he got one customer squared away, another was calling him over because their toast wasn't toasted enough or their coffee tasted burnt (that much was probably true since he had, in fact, burnt the coffee). He was silently mulling over the thought of exactly how much jail time he might actually have to serve if he strangled the man he came to know as Kirk, who was currently well into an already five-minute-long monologue about the difference white American cheese and yellow American cheese and why his new diet only allowed him to eat the white kind when Betty walked through the door, the now annoyingly familiar bell chiming above. 

Her impossibly green eyes were bright as she wore a smile that stretched wide across her face. Her sunshine gold blonde hair was pulled back into a messy pony tail, a few loose strands framing her face, giving her an almost windblown look, and noticing the flush to her cheeks, he guessed she had run here. That thought instantly made his eyes travel south, to her incredibly long tan legs, and the unbelievably short denim cut off's she was wearing. Surely, he looked like a complete fool, standing there, mouth a gape as she walked toward him. 

"Hey there." Her voice was breathy but bright. 

"Ah Betty, good afternoon. I was just trying to explain to this fine gentleman that I-" 

"You need white cheese right? No problem. Just give me a moment and I'll fix this for you." Betty cut the man off, scooping his plate up from the table and heading behind the counter. "Ceasar, I need a Kirk burger." She called into the kitchen before depositing the burger she carried on the counter. "Have you eaten?" 

It took Jughead a moment to realize she was talking to him. She had this was of bursting into a room and completely making his mind go blank. "Uh, no actually." 

She gestured toward the burger. "Eat up, I can take care of the rest of the rush." 

He was about to protest when his stomach growled loudly, causing Betty to give him a pointedly look as she took off, ready to take orders. He sat down and promptly bit into the burger, sighing in relief at how good it was. 

By 1:30 most of the lunch crown had disbursed, leaving him and Betty to clean up the mess left behind. They hadn't really had a chance to talk since she walked in, and silently he was feeling kind of guilty. It was his fault she was having to work here, well at least partly his fault. He knew she had other jobs, three to be exact, and though he was sure Luke wouldn't be allowing her to work for free he still felt bad about the possibility that this might be pulling her away from other earning opportunities. 

He was just about to apologize out loud when Toni and Stevie came bustling through the door. 

"Look who I found wandering the streets." Toni said, making her way to a table in the corner. 

"More like I found you. If I hadn't you'd be circling the same block." Stevie teased back. 

"What, did you get lost?" Jughead snorted. Toni had never had a good sense of direction, but he figured it was probably damn near impossible to get lost in a town like Stars Hollow. 

"No." Toni responded, somewhat defensively which told him that it was probably true. 

Betty called over to Ceasar, instructing him to make a giant order of chili cheese fries before coming to join the three of them at the table. 

"You never did have a good sense of direction. Remember that time you got us lost for five hours on our way to a concert in Queens, and come to find out we were only like an hour away from home the entire time, just driving in circles?" Jughead teased Toni, his mind wandering back to her, Sweet Pea, and Fangs all stuffed into Toni's old 1989 Chevy Cavalier. It was back before any of them had gotten their bikes, and Toni being the oldest was the only one with a car. 

"Okay that was not strictly my fault. Fangs gave me shitty directions!" She defended. 

"Fangs gave you one direction, which you ignored, insisting you knew how to get there. God that was the worst night. My head is still tender from banging in on your roof every time you went over a pot hole too fast." Jughead laughed, and Toni did to. Those were simpler times. Sure, they were already all well acquainted with the Serpents and well on their way to becoming full-fledged members by that point, but they were still young and naïve enough to believe it was something that it wasn't. 

"I'm sorry, Fangs?" Stevie questioned, breaking whatever nostalgic spell he and Toni, both seemed to be currently under. 

"It's a nickname." Jughead responded as Ceasar placed a giant plate of steaming hot chili cheese fries in the middle of the table. "Thanks, Ceasar!" He called out. 

"I figured. What's your town and weird nicknames?" Stevie teased, taking a fry and plopping it in his mouth. He hissed as it burned the roof of his mouth. 

"It's Serpent tradition for the men to take nicknames." Toni said flatly, much to Jughead's disapproval. 

"A tradition some of us didn't take part in." He quipped back. 

"So Jughead was a nickname you already had?" Betty asked sweetly. It was the first time she had chimed in on their conversation and it immediately warmed him. 

"His real name is-" Toni began as Jughead kicked her shin under the table. "Ow asshole. Just for that I'm going to tell them about the time you accidentally caught your pants on fire and stripped naked in front of like twenty people and then had to walk back to your trailer wearing nothing but my flannel wrapped around your waste!" 

Jughead wasn't sure if he was cringing more from the embarrassing memory of the night in question or from Toni's slip that he lived in a trailer. It wasn't like he was necessarily ashamed of the fact, but it wasn't a part of his life's story that he had gotten around to divulging to Betty just yet. However, any thoughts of embarrassment were quickly pushed away when he glanced at Betty who was full on Belly laughing, as well as Stevie and Toni. 

"What else was I supposed to do? My pants were on fire!" He pleaded, causing another round of hysterics. 

"You certainly didn't have to take off all of your clothes. I still wish I had recorded it. He completely freaked out and screamed like a girl!" Toni was laughing. 

"Why did you have to walk home naked though?" Betty asked, wiping tears from her eyes. 

Jughead sighed. "I kind of tripped as I was trying to get my burning pants off and fell into a huge mud puddle." 

Betty stared at him with wide eyes before bursting into yet another fit of laughter. 

"You should have seen him! Pants and boxers around his ankles, his t-shirt and face covered in mud. It was great." Toni said, slapping her hand on the table. 

Jughead sat and watched as the group of them laughed at his expense. If it were anyone else, he might feel some sort of offended, but watching Betty throw her head back, clutching her stomach as the sweetest laugh he'd ever heard came bellowing from her throat, he couldn't help but laugh right along with her. 

The next hour was spent with the four of them sharing different stories. Betty and Stevie were just as close as he and Toni were and had just as many stories to share. Getting to hear about Betty's life here, what she was like growing up, from the perspective of someone who truly seems to care about her made Jughead's heart swell. He wondered what life would have been like had he grown up here with Betty. 

Stevie was just starting to launch into another story about Betty when Lorelai and Luke came into the diner. It was the first time the door had chimed since they all sat down and startled him a bit. For a moment he forgot that he was at work. 

"Working hard or hardly working?" Luke asked, his eyes darting between Betty and Jughead. 

"Hardly working. No one's been in since lunch." Betty replied nonchalantly, clearly at all worried about Luke catching them not working. 

Luke sighed, nodding his head knowingly, when a look Jughead couldn't place crossed his face quickly. It was gone before Jughead could really study it and figure out what it meant. 

Lorelai cleared her throat, almost seeming to want to change the subject. "Probably a good thing since you guys have to close up early." 

"What? Why?" Betty asked, following Lorelai behind the counter. Jughead followed as well. 

"Your grandmother apparently got back from London last night and she's insisting on dinner tonight. I tried to get us out of it but..." She trailed off, as she opened the register and started counting the drawer. 

Something in the air seemed to change. It was probably imperceptible to anyone else, but as Jughead watched Betty's hands curl into tight fists, her breath catching in her throat, and her shoulders go stiff he felt it. It was like a static, a low humming of anxiety radiating off of Betty's body. She seemed almost in a trance, staring at the counter. 

"Jughead, you're coming to. Head upstairs and change and meet us back home in twenty minutes." Luke said as he walked out of the kitchen. "Oh and, no beanie, no flannel, no weird ripped jeans or combat boots, and no graphic t-shirts." 

"Do you want him in his birthday suit because that's just about all Jughead owns." Toni snorted as she and Stevie made their way to the door. "I'm gonna head out, Stevie and I are gonna catch a movie. Shoot me a text when you're back around." 

Jughead simply nodded in her direction. His mind was still focused on Betty. 

"Jughead. Go. Dress. Now." Lorelai's voice broke through his thoughts as she gently pushed him toward the steps. He said nothing, instead, turning and catching Betty's eyes. He gave her a somewhat confused look and she simply returned it with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. 

.

.

.

.

Forty-five minutes later Jughead stood in front of a giant wooden door to the biggest house he had probably ever seen in real life dressed in black jeans, black converses, and a long sleeve navy blue V-neck shirt, sans beanie. After trying to tame his hair, and failing, he gave up, deciding this was the best he could do with such short notice. Beside him stood Betty, wearing a beautiful dark green dress that synched at the waste, but was flowy from there down. It was paired with nude heels, that weren't too high, but just the right height to make her legs look even longer. Her hair was down and she wore minimal makeup. By all accounts she looked stunning. 

He could probably stare at her all night but he couldn't help but be distracted by her hands, those of which kept opening and closing as if she was fighting with herself to keep from clenching them, her shoulders, that looked impossibly stiff and up right, and her eyes, which were slightly wide with anxiety and a bit distant. 

Betty wasn't the only one who seemed overly anxious. The entire car ride had been silent, the air thick as he watched Luke rub the back of his neck and Lorelai adjust and readjust her hands in her lap a hundred times. Even now, as they all stood in front of the impossibly large door, he still felt it. 

The door swung open and they were greeted by an older woman in a grey maid's outfit. She invited them, taking Lorelai's jacket she had brought but didn't bother wearing. 

"Mrs. Gilmore is in the living room. Go on in." She said, gesturing in the direction she wanted them to go. 

"Thank you." Lorelai gave her a curt smile before the leading them into what Jughead figured was the living room. 

The room itself was bigger than his entire trailer doubled, possibly tippled. It was beyond fancy, decorated with a mix of high end and somewhat vintage pieces. On a couch that looked more like a show piece then an actual couch sat a much older woman. He could see the resemblance to Lorelai almost immediately. The dark hair, light eyes, and prominent cheek bones. However, her features didn't seem to hold the same softness Lorelai's did. 

"You're here. Finally. For a moment I thought I'd be eating alone." The woman said, not bothering to stand up. 

"Sorry Mom, we hit some traffic." Lorelai replied as she sat down in on the couch directly across from her. Luke sat next to her, and as Betty sat in one of the armchairs to the side she gestured for him to sit in the other. 

"And who do we have here?" The woman asked, looking directly at Jughead. He felt his throat go dry, completely forgetting his own name. 

"Emily, this is my nephew, Jughead." Luke replied. "Jughead, this is Emily, Lorelai's mother." 

Jughead was about to say _nice to meet you_ and extend a hand out toward Emily when she cut him off. 

"You're nephew? I hadn't realized your sister had another son." She said, looking directly at Luke. 

"She... She doesn't. He's my brother's kid. He's staying with me for a while, helping me out at the diner." Luke seemed nervous, unable to make eye contact with his own mother-in-law. 

"You have a brother. I didn't know this." 

"Yea, we're not... we didn't... we have different mom's and didn't really grow up together." Luke seemed to be trying to find the best way to explain a situation that simply wasn't good. 

"I see. Jughead, you say. I take it that's not your real name." Emily said, not asked, looking directly at him again. 

"No ma'am. It's a childhood nickname." Jughead replied, as politely as he could, sensing that manners were of great importance in this house. 

"What is your real name then?" Her question was almost not a question, more a demand. Jughead had dealt with people asking what his real name was his whole life, and almost every time he had managed to dodge the question, the only exception being the time he almost got arrested. He knew right away, just like the overzealous police officer that day, Emily would not be letting him dodge her question. 

"Forsythe Pendleton Jones III." He said flatly. 

Emily's eyebrows shot up to her hair line. If he didn't know any Better he's say that she was impressed. The expression didn't last long. 

"Well Forsythe, it's nice to meet you." She said finally. 

"Nice to meet you as well ma'am." He replied with a small smile and a nod. 

Through the entire conversation he was acutely away of Betty, sitting in the chair beside him, silent and still. He could still feel the anxiety rolling off of her, only know he was sure he knew why. 

"Elizabeth, you look very nice today. Is that a new dress?" Emily asked, turning her attention to Betty. 

"Thank you, grandma. Yes, it is new." She responded with a polite smile. 

"We picked it up at a small boutique in downtown Hartford mom. I think I told you about it before." Lorelai explained. 

"Yes, I'm sure you have. It's very pretty, brings out your eyes." She said with finality. 

Just then the maid from earlier came into the room and announced dinner was ready. As they all made their way to the table a thought jumped into Jughead minds. 

"I'd like to wash my hands before we eat if that's okay." He said, holding his hands up. 

"Yes of course. Elizabeth will show you where the washroom is." Emily replied. 

He thanked her and then followed Betty down a long hallway, away from the rest of the group. When they reached the bathroom, he pulled her in with him and closed the door behind him. 

"What are you doing Jughead?" Betty asked with mild horror. 

"What's going on Betty? Why do you seem so anxious." He asked, searching her eyes. 

Betty swallowed and averted her gaze. "It's nothing... I'm not." 

"Hey, don't hide from me." He said, cupping her cheek and lifting her eyes to meet his. "You can talk to me." 

For a moment he thought Betty might cry but she blinked quickly and shook her head from his grasps. "It's nothing really. Come on, we should get back before she sends a maid looking for us." 

Jughead watched as she opened the door and slipped out. Shaking his head, he quickly washed his hands, drying them on one of the fancy towels and exited the bathroom. 

Just as he and Betty sat down, dinner was being served. He knew from the moment he saw the house this would be the fanciest dinner he ever had, but he hadn't realized how fancy. There were multiple forks and spoons next to his plate and as the food was served he glanced over to Betty, trying to see which utensil he should be picking up. She seemed to understand, and ever so slightly help up the correct one. 

The food itself was okay. The appetizer had been a simple chicken noodle soup, which while it lacked in flavor, wasn't altogether unpleasing. The main course however, had been some kind of fish, served with a bland rice, and sautéed brussels sprouts. He had never really been a fan of fish, more of a red meat kind of guy, but he managed to swallow it down, not wanting to offend. 

For most of the meal conversation remined light and easy. Emily asked Lorelai about some renovations going on at the Inn she owned, which launched her into a ten-minute rant about the difference between white and eggshell white and how she didn't see one but it was apparently of great importance to her designer. Luke begrudgingly answered all of Emily's questions, no matter how secretly offence they seemed. 

Betty remained silent, quietly eating and smiling and nodding every now and then. Lorelai was in the middle of telling a story about something that happened in town last week when Emily cut her off. 

"So, Elizabeth, how is your summer so far?" She asked, placing her fork on the table, indicating she was done eating. 

"It's been good so far. I've been working at the dinner a lot, which I enjoy." Betty's response was polite but there was an undertone to it that Jughead couldn't place. 

"Is that what you plan to do?" Emily asked. 

"Excuse me?" Betty replied. 

"Is that what you plan to do... with your life?" Emily clarified. 

He saw Betty's hands snake under the table, curling into tight fists. Without thinking, he reached under as well and took them in his hand. Keeping his eyes forward. She held onto his hand tightly, as if she might float away if she let go. 

"No mom, of course Betty doesn't plan on working at the diner forever. Though there's nothing with that." Lorelai spoke up, answering for Betty. 

"I didn't ask you Lorelai. I'm asking Betty. What do you plan to do with your life?" Again, Emily directed her attention directly to Betty. 

He felt Betty's hands tremble slightly and he gave her a reassuring squeeze. 

Betty took a deep breath before replying. "I... I don't know what I plan on doing with my life grandma." 

Emily huffed and rolled her eyes. "I will never understand this generation. By your age Rory had already been accepted into every college she applied to and had already made all the plans necessary to move into Yale come fall. You have to have a plan Elizabeth. Wasting your time working at some small-town diner, well... well it's just not good enough. Your last name may be Cooper but you've still got Gilmore blood and that means something." 

Jughead had to actively stifle a huff threatening to escape his throat. He didn't miss the subtle insult toward his uncle, and looking at him, it was clear he didn't either. Jughead quickly began to realize this was probably nothing new. 

"I mean honestly Lorelai, how could you just let her squander her potential like this. Allowing her to work at the diner, I expect this from Luke, but not from you." 

"Oh my god mother. Enough. There's nothing wrong with Betty not being sure about what she wants and, in the meantime, at least she's earning money and life experience." Lorelai's voice was louder than he had ever heard it, a clear indication at how angry she was. Luke remained silent, eyes fixed on the table and Betty hands still held his own in a vice like grip. 

"Would you have allowed this type of behavior from Rory?" 

Lorelai took in a sharp breath, seeming unable to answer. 

"No, you wouldn't have. I mean god Lorelai, you practically threw the girl out on the street when she wanted to take a year off and-" 

"Okay, I've had enough. Yet another wonderful Gilmore diner for the books." Lorelai said, scooting her chair back. "For the record, I didn't throw Rory out the street. She made the choice the leave, and it was hers to make. Just like it's Betty's choice to make on what she wants to do with her life." As she stood up she threw her napkin on the table. 

For a second Jughead wondered if he should be following in suit, but neither Betty nor Luke made a move so he stayed put. Emily however, got up and followed after Lorelai. 

"Don't you walk away from like that Lorelai. I'm not done." 

"Yea well I am." Lorelai yelled back as she whipped around. 

Emily only looked slightly affronted. "That girl has just as much potential as Rory and I will not sit by and watch as you allow her to throw her life away. Small town blue collar work might be good enough for Luke and his never-ending supply of nephew's but it is not enough for a Gilmore and I will not-" 

"I'm not a Gilmore!" Betty yelled out beside. She stood up so fast Jughead had startled and banged his knee on the table. "I am not a Gilmore. I am not Rory!" 

"You mind your tone young lady." Emily scolded, pointing her finger at Betty and taking a step toward her. Almost on instinct Jughead stood up from his seat. 

"Ya know what, no. I'm not going to mind my fucking tone." There was an audible gasp though Jughead didn't know who it came from. 

"Hey, that's enough." Lorelai said in a stern voice. 

"No! I'm so tired of this. I'm not Rory and I never will be! I'm not going to live up to some unrealistic expectations. Hell, even Rory couldn't live up to them! What I do, or don't do with my life, is no one's business but my own. Maybe... Maybe I want to work at Luke's for the rest of my life, or maybe I don't. Shit maybe I'll run off to New York with some leather clad biker on the back of his Harley in search of an adventure!" 

Jughead felt his stomach drop and his cheeks burn hot. He knew there was no way she was talking about him, and even if she was, surely it was just to get a rise out of her grandmother, but he couldn't stop the panic that was rising in his chest, feeling Lorelai and Luke's eyes burning through him.

"Excuse me?" Luke asked incredulously. 

Emily clutched at the pearls around her neck looked down right offended. "I have never felt so directed in my own home. I'm going to bed. Please see yourselves out." She stalked past them all and headed in the direction of the stairs. 

"Are you out of your mind?" Lorelai asked, crossing her arms across her chest. 

Betty rolled her eyes and walked past her heading toward the door.

The car ride home had been completely silent, as was the ride there. When they got back to Luke and Lorelai's Betty had asked him to give her a minute to change, and then they could talk. He was sitting on the front porch waiting for her when he started to hear the familiar sounds of muffled yelling. He didn't want to be nosey, but he couldn't help his curiosity. He slowly and quietly made his way over to Betty's open window. The three of them were in the kitchen, and with both Betty's door and window open, he could hear everything. 

"It was just a joke!" Betty defended. 

"Just a joke? You think it's just a joke to insinuate you want to run away on the back of some biker's motorcycle while you stand there next to one whose hand you had been holding under the table all night?" Lorelai yelled back. 

"I wasn't... it wasn't about..." Betty stumbled over her words. 

"Is.. Is that what this is all about? Are you purposely not making a decision because of Jughead and your relationship with him?" Lorelai's tone was accusatory and Jughead winced slightly. 

"Are you serious right now? I've known Jughead for a grand total of what, a week and half? I've been feeling like this for months Lorelai, MONTHS!" Betty was full on yelling and he could hear her voice crack with the threat of tears. 

"Feeling like what?" 

"Like I have no idea what it is I'm supposed to be doing. Like I have you and the rest of the world just watching my every move waiting for me to do something, anything. It's not fair! I may be living in Rory's room but I'm not Rory!" Betty pleaded. 

"I've never treated you like you were! But you have to make a decision Betty and college... it should be part of that decision. You want to stay home, go to community college, fine do it! You want to run off to New York and go to Columbia, I support you! But you can't just..." Lorelai trailed off. 

"Can't just what? Stay here? Work here in town? Never amount to anything more? What if that's the decision I want to make?" 

Jughead could hear a sniffle and somehow knew it wasn't Betty's. "I haven't played the mom card very often with you because, well, I'm not your mom. But for all intents and purposes I am your parent and I'm pulling the parent card here Betty. No, those are not choices I think you should be making." 

Betty chuckled, but not in a humorous way. "You're right, you're not my mom. And Luke isn't my dad, and this... this isn't my room. "Ya know, you may not have pulled the parent card often, and maybe should you have, but pulling now, when I'm 18 years old, feels like too little too late." 

Suddenly there were sounds like footsteps and Jughead quickly made his way back to the front of the porch just in time to see Betty flying out the front door, tears streaming down her face, and into his arms. He held her there for a brief moment before she pulled away and looked up at him. 

"Can we please just get out of here?" She asked him, her eyes filled tears. 

He simply nodded and lead them away from the house. 

**Author's Note:**

> So you made it through! A few things... 
> 
> These first few chapter are long and detailed. I promise we get more dialogue and such down the line but I wanted to set the scene and the mood and dive into each character a bit, just to introduce everyone to everyone if you know what I mean. 
> 
> I may have spelled Stars Hollow like Stars Hallow a few times. Chalk that up me not paying attention. I tried to go back and fix them all but I just couldn't find every one. haha 
> 
> Obviously it's not canon that Luke had a brother name FP or that FP has a brother named Luke, but this was honestly the only way I could work it so that it made sense. Betty is just a second or third cousin of Lorelair's related there her mom. It believable, right? 
> 
> Stevie and Kwan are Lane's twin boys and believe it or not, the ages work out pretty well. 
> 
> We will be meeting both Archie and Veronica down the line. I had to really think how to introduce them into the story, because I wanted them in the story. We will also be meeting Josie! No Cheryl though as I honest have no idea what to do with her character. She could never blend into Stars Hollow. 
> 
> Again I hope you enjoy this crack crossover!


End file.
